THE BLACK ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WHO WON AN OSCAR

 THE BLACK ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WHO WON AN OSCAR

They are not many, and that speaks to the systemic racism in the United States, but they are brilliant: Regina King, Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong'o and more Hollywood stars who conquered the Oscars.

We are preparing for The Oscars of 2022 reviewing each nominee, all the nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best International Film, Best Documentary, Original Song, Special Effects or even seen the reactions of the nominees. However, despite some African-American presence, this year does not seem to be the one that balances the balance and black actors and actresses enlarge their small list of winners.

 Since the creation of the Oscars in 1929, only 19 statuettes have been awarded to performances by black actors and actresses, twelve of them in the 21st century alone. In front, more than 300 awards given to white performers. The difference is more than evident, and reflects a reality of racism in the United States that, fortunately, has been changing over the years. Enough? As the statistics show, not even close.

 Halle Berry remains, after more than 90 years of awards history, the only black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress. The rest (which includes from the pioneer Hattie McDaniel for 'Gone with the Wind', who could not attend the ceremony to collect her statuette due to the racial segregation laws of the time, to Viola Davis, Jennifer Hudson and Regina King , among others) have had to settle for Best Supporting Actress. Men have been luckier, but not by much: Denzel Washington won the Oscar twice, once for Best Actor ('Training Day' in 2001) following the example (nearly 40 years later!) of Sidney Poitier in 1963 (he was the first black man to be decorated, thanks to 'Lilies of the Valley'), and since then he has been followed by performers such as Mahershala Ali (also with a double, both for Best Supporting Actor, for 'Moonlight' and 'Green Book'), Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker.

The numbers continue to indicate that African-Americans barely star in major Hollywood productions, and this is reflected in the winners of the most important awards in the North American industry. 

This year, 2021, there could be a situation never seen before: a quartet of non-white winners in the acting categories of the Oscars. Bets favor the late Chadwick Boseman as Best Actor for 'The Mother of Blues', Andra Day as Best Actress for 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' (although here Viola Davis could also sneak in for 'The Mother of Blues'), Daniel Kaluuya for Best Supporting Actor for 'Judas and the Black Messiah' and Yuh-Jung Youn for Best Supporting Actress for 'Minari'. Except for the South Korean actress, three of the winners could be black performers. 

We take the opportunity to review all the actors and actresses who preceded them, those who paved the way, those who managed to win the awards despite the obstacles.