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Jet, March 4, 2002

Mfume added, "Ask me five years from now to see if we go back to business as usual. History will answer the question of whether this really signals a new era.

Mfume continued, "But the wonderful thing about all of this is that each of these individuals got this nomination because of their skill level and not because of their skin color. Thank God, Will Smith, Denzel and Halle have the skills that they do; that really becomes legitimately difficult to ignore."

Mfume says he looks forward to the day that three Blacks winning Oscar nominations would not be big news. "It's close to being a disgrace. In 2002, that really should be a non-story."

In this year's Oscar race, Washington and Smith are nominated in the same category as Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind); Sean Penn (I Am Sam); and Tom Wilkerson (In The Bedroom).

Berry is competing with Judi Dench (Iris): Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge); Sissy Spacek (In The Bedroom) and Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary).

The Academy Awards ceremony will air on March 24 on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Oscar for Ghost, will host the awards ceremony.

BLACK ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WHO HAVE WON OSCARS

Hattie McDaniel--Best Supporting Actress--Gone With The Wind-1939

Sidney Poitier--Best Actor--Lilies of the Field-1963

Louis Gossett Jr.--Best Supporting Actor--An Officer And A Gentleman-1982

Denzel Washington--Best Supporting Actor--Glory-1989

Whoopi Goldberg--Best Supporting Actress--Ghost-1990

Cuba Gooding Jr.--Best Suppoting Actor--Jerry Maguire-1997