Although the last few years unusually strong one for African-American Academy Award nominees, there were still notable oversights, such as Anthony Mackie’s acclaimed supporting work in The Hurt Locker. This year there were no black nominees in the major acting categories.
Mackie is just one member of a large community of black actors who have yet to be nominated for Hollywood’s highest honor. In the last 84 years, Oscars have been awarded to black actors and actresses in major categories just 12 times. It’s worth noting that of those victories, six have occurred in the last decade — a definite sign of improvement. Still, there are far too many talents over the years who have been neglected.