Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are poised to grab Best Actor & Best Actress Oscars for their performances in August Wilson’s “Fences.”[/caption]
The 89th Academy Awards will air Sunday, February 26. After last year’s shutout of African Americans being nominated, this year’s Oscars boast six stars from the silver screen with a chance to take home a golden statue.
Ruth Negga has been nominated in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the movie “Loving,” a film about Virginia couple Richard and Mildred Loving, who marry and face tremendous obstacles as they dare to defy the miscegenation laws of the segregated South.
Denzel Washington is up for his third Oscar, this one for Best Actor in the drama, “Fences.” Washington plays Troy Maxson in an adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play about Black life in 1950s Pittsburgh. Washington’s co-star, Viola Davis, could walk away with a Best Actress Oscar of her own for her portrayal of Rose Maxson in “Fences.”
Mahershala Ali is up for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Moonlight.”[/caption]In the Best Supporting Actor category, Mahershala Ali grabbed a nomination for his role as Juan in the movie, “Moonlight,” a drama about a young Black man in Miami. Naomie Harris will be one to watch in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Paula in “Moonlight.”
Actress Octavia Spencer is up for her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar. This time for her role as mathematician and computer scientist Dorothy Vaughan in “Hidden Figures,” a movie which focuses on the lives of three African American women, who worked at NASA to formulate important mathematical data vital to the program’s first successful space missions.
For Best Picture this year, “La La Land” received a record-tying 14 nominations (tied with 1950’s “All About Eve” and 1997’s “Titanic”). “Moonlight” and “Arrival” received eight nominations respectively with six nominations each going to films “Manchester by the Sea,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” and “Lion.”
32 African American actors, musicians, writers and producers have taken home Oscar awards. Here’s the rundown of those winners:
• 1940 Hattie McDaniel - Best Supporting Actress – “Gone With the Wind”
• 1964 Sidney Poitier - Best Actor – “Lilies of the Field”
• 1972 Isaac Hayes - Best Original Song – “Theme from Shaft”
• 1983 Louis Gossett Jr – Best Supporting Actor – “An Officer and a Gentleman”
• 1984 Irene Cara - Best Original Song – “Flashdance What a Feeling”
• 1985 Prince – Best Original Song Score – “Purple Rain” soundtrack
• 1985 Stevie Wonder - Best Original Song – I Just Called to Say I Love You – “The Woman in Red”
• 1986 Lionel Richie – Best Original Song – Say You, Say Me – “White Nights”
• 1987 Herbie Hancock – Best Original Score – “Round Midnight”
•1989 & 2007 Willie D. Burton – Best Sound and Best Sound Mixing – “Bird” and “Dreamgirls”
• 1990 & 2002 Denzel Washington – Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor – “Glory” and “Training Day”
• 1990 & 1991 Russell Williams II – Best Sound – “Glory” and “Dances with Wolves”
• 1991 Whoopi Goldberg – Best Supporting Actress – “Ghost”
• 1997 Cuba Gooding Jr – Best Supporting Actor – “Jerry Maguire”
• 2002 Halle Berry – Best Actress – “Monster’s Ball”
• 2005 Jamie Foxx – Best Actor – “Ray”
• 2005 Morgan Freeman – Best Supporting Actor – “Million Dollar Baby”
• 2006 Three 6 Mafia – Best Original Song – “Hustle & Flow”
• 2007 Forest Whitaker – Best Actor – “The Last King of Scotland”
• 2007 Jennifer Hudson – Best Supporting Actress – “Dreamgirls”
• 2010 Geoffrey Fletcher – Best Adapted Screenplay – “Precious”
• 2010 Mo’Nique – Best Supporting Actress – “Precious”
• 2010 Roger Ross Williams – Best Documentary Short Subject – “Music By Prudence”
• 2012 T.J. Martin – Director, Best Documentary Feature – “Undefeated”
• 2012 Octavia Spencer – Best Supporting Actress – “The Help”
• 2014 Steve McQueen – Best Picture – “Twelve Years a Slave”
• 2014 Lupita Nyong’o – Best Supporting Actress – “Twelve Years a Slave”
• 2014 John Ridley – Best Adapted Screenplay – “Twelve Years a Slave”
• 2015 Common & John Legend – Best Original Song – “Selma”
