Has Hollywood really changed? What the big Oscar night means—and does not mean

Ebony, June, 2002 by Zondra Hughes

It was a night to remember Sidney Poiter being honored for his long climb to the top of the Hollywood Hill, and telling the world how he and so many others got over.

Halle Berry letting all hang out, tearfully thanking Dorothy Dandridge, Oprah, and others after she became the first Black actress to win the top award.

Denzel Washington, standing tall, saying, in a nice-way, that "it was about time" after he became the first Black actor to win the top award in 39 years.

And Will Smith and Jada and Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson and Whoopi and Janet Jackson and Oprah ,and Sean (P. Diddy) Combs and Cuba Gooding Jr. and Angela Bassett, all dressed to the hilt and saying amen in person, and Blacks all over America saying amen by proxy and hugging one another and giving high-fives, and partying all night to celebrate Black America's biggest night at the Oscars.

Replaying these scenes over and over on the morning after, and the mornings after, and reminding themselves of the still dismal figures on Black unrepresentation in Hollywood, an increasing number of movie professionals and people on the street started asking big questions about the meaning of the big night and the meaning of the Black presence in Hollywood.

Did the unprecedented act of giving the top acting awards to two Blacks on the same night mean that Hollywood has really changed, or was the night one more masquerade--a scripted moment in time--designed to quell 40 years of criticism and clamoring for good?

To answer these questions, you have to step back from the bright lights and look both backward and forward. Spike Lee, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, film critic Roger Ebert and others interviewed for this article say it's apparent Blacks have made some progress in Hollywood, but the big Oscar night was just the beginning, not the end of the struggle.

Film critic Roger Ebert, who accurately predicted that both Berry and Washington would win big this year, gave one "thumb up" to the significance of the night.

"No one doubts the economic power of African-American actors; Hollywood these days hardly ever makes a big-budget action picture without a Black star," Ebert told EBONY. "[Yet] Oscar-worthy roles are in especially short supply ... and African-Americans are still underrepresented at Oscar time--that's obvious. The two big wins this year should not be allowed to obscure that fact. But, as Poitier observed, if you take a longer view, then yes, the situation is improving."

NAACP president Mfume celebrated the victorious night along with almost everyone else, but he also warned that this year's Oscar night does not instantly erase the decades of inequality.

"Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud," he said. "If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color, then it is a good thing. However, if this proves to be a momentary flash in a long history of neglect, then Hollywood has failed to learn the real meaning of equality."

Director Spike Lee echoed Mfume's sentiments. "I'm sure many people were thinking the same way the moment after Sidney Poitier won his Oscar for Lilies of the Field. I just hope that Hollywood doesn't say, `Okay, we've given [Black folks] their one year, so let's freeze them out again.' I just hope there isn't another 40-year drought."

The Black drought officially began after Poitier's 1963 achievement. But unofficially, the drought dates back to Oscar's birth. Since Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar in 1939 for her role in Gone With the Wind, a scant 39 performances by Black actors have been nominated, out of 1,369 nominations in acting categories. Since that time, only seven Black actors have actually won an Oscar for acting roles--McDaniel (Gone With the Wind), Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field), Louis Gossett Jr. (An Officer and A Gentleman), Denzel Washington, (Glory and Training Day), Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire) and Halle Berry (Monster's Ball). James Baskett received a special award in 1948 for his role in Song of the South. Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Lionel Richie and Herbie Hancock won for their music scores. Russell Williams became the first Black to win two Oscars for his work as a sound technician on the movie Glory in 1989 and Dances With Wolves in 1990. And Willie D. Burton won an Oscar in 1989 as a member of the sound team for the movie Bird.

In the '50s, '60s and increasingly in recent years, film critics, Black and White professionals, and major Black organizations have criticized the Academy for overlooking major performances by Black actors and directors.

Movie fans received a jolt back in 1954 when Dorothy Dandridge, the first Black performer to be nominated in the Best Actress category for her performance in Carmen Jones, lost out to Grace Kelly.

Critics complained when Morgan Freeman was robbed of an Oscar for his role in Driving Miss Daisy.

The rumbles of outrage reached ear-shattering levels when Denzel Washington was snubbed for his spectacular performances in Malcolm X and The Hurricane. And Spike Lee, despite an impressive, and critically acclaimed body of work, has never won an Oscar.