Black History Month Adds Some New Hollywood Stars After Oscars 2019

Hollywood’s “biggest” night turned into a history-making night for African Americans with several industry firsts recorded as celebrities and moviegoers watched the Oscars 2019 unfold in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Ruth Carter, who started her career in costume design working on a Spike Lee joint, received the Oscar for the African-inspired design she created for the blockbuster ‘Black Panther,’ making her the first African American to win a statue for Best Costume Design. Carter had been nominated before for her costumes in ‘Malcolm X’ and ‘Amistad’, but this was her first Oscar win.

Hannah Beachler won the Oscar for Best Production Designs, by wowing audiences with her futuristic sets depicting Wakanda, the fictional African country in ‘Black Panther.’ Beachler is the first African American ever nominated in the category and the first to win. As she accepted her award, Beachler acknowledged ‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler and shared advice she attributed to a “wise” woman, saying “I did my best, and my best was good enough.”

Director Spike Lee won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie ‘BlacKkKlansman’ which tells the story of an African American police officer who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan and with the help of a Jewish friend.

In his acceptance speech, Lee marked the significance of the years 2019 and 1619 which bookend the 400-year history  of Africans and their descendants in America. The outspoken filmmaker said, “Four-hundred years since our ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and brought to Jamestown, Virginia and enslaved. Our ancestors worked the land from ‘can’t-see-in-the morning’ until ‘can’t-see-at-night.’”

Regina King, elegant in a Grecian Goddess gown, thanked James Baldwin who wrote, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk,’ which inspired the movie of the same name for which King won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The actress shared her success with her mother who attended the awards show as her date. She concluded her acceptance remarks by stating, “God is good.”

“I want to dedicate this award to my grandmother who’s been in my ear my entire life, telling me if at first I don’t succeed, try, try, again,” said actor Marhershala Ali, as he accepted the night’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in ‘Green Book.’ “I know I would not be here without her, she gotten me over the hump every step of the way.” Ali also won a Best Supporting Oscar in 2017 for ‘Moonlighting.’ The 2019 award distinguishes Ali as the first African American actor to win two Best Supporting Actor Oscars.

Ali’s work in ‘Green Book’ helped the movie land the Oscar for 2019’s Best Picture. The film’s director described the movie as “being about love.”