Meet The First African-American Women to Win Oscars

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Hannah Beachler (Left) and Ruth E. Carter (Right) both won for their work on ‘Black Panther’.

The wait was long. More than three decades, to be precice. 

On Sunday night, the wait was over as these two African-American women won Oscar awards in non-acting categories:

Hannah Beachler for production design and Ruth E. Carter for costume design, both for their work on ‘Black Panther’ They became the first African-American women to win Oscars in their categories, and the first to win in a non-acting category since Irene Cara in 1984, who won for best original song, ‘Flashdance… What A Feeling’, which she co-wrote. 

And Sunday night’s wins were perhaps appropriate given that the film they won for was a barrier-breaking spectacle and a box office smash. While there has been more progress in the high-profile Oscar categories in recognizing people of color, that advancement has historically been limited to on screen work. 

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“This has been a long time coming,” Carter said in her acceptance speech. She had been nominated twice before: ‘Amistad’ (1997) and ‘Malcolm X’ (1992). (‘Malcolm X’ was directed by Spike Lee, who was up for multiple Oscars of his own Sunday.) 

“Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king,” Carter added. “It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes. Thank you to the academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead onscreen.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWo7bO3ZeJY

In Beachler’s acceptance speech, she paid tribute to the director of ‘Black Panther’, Ryan Coogler, along with Marvel, and Rachel Morrison, the film’s cinematographer, who last year became the first woman nominated for an Oscar in the cinematography category. 

“I give the strength to all of those who come next, to keep going, to never give up,” Beachler said through tears. “And when you think it’s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman. I did my best, and my best is good enough.”

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