Here Are the 7 Black Actors Who Have Won an Oscar
Despite the breadth of roles to choose from in 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended their #OscarsSoWhite streak for the second year in a row. When the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards were announced in January, no minorities were represented in the acting categories, prompting celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith to call for a boycott.
In comparison to their counterpart, Oscar-winning roles for black actors have been more varied in terms of scope, including leading and supporting roles, as well as type — not the ones that David Oyolewo dubbed in 2015 as "subservient." In its 87-year history, seven black actors have won an Academy Award for eight different roles.
Read more: Academy Awards Announces Plan to Diversify Membership by 2020, Organization Says
Sidney Poitier
Role and film: Homer Smith, Lilies of the Field
Oscar win: 36th Academy Awards on April 13, 1964
Category: Best actor
Note: Poitier also received a noncompeting, honorary Oscar at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.
Louis Gossett Jr.
Role and film: Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, An Officer and a Gentleman
Oscar win: 55th Academy Awards on April 11, 1983
Category: Best supporting actor
Denzel Washington – twice!
Role and film: Private Silas Trip, Glory
Oscar win: 62nd Academy Awards on March 26, 1990
Category: Best supporting actor
Role and film: Alonzo Harris, Training Day
Oscar win: 74th Academy Awards on March 24, 2002
Category: Best actor
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Role and film: Rod Tidwell, Jerry Maguire
Oscar win: 69th Academy Awards on March 24, 1997
Category: Best supporting actor
Jamie Foxx
Role and film: Ray Charles, Ray
Oscar win: 77th Academy Awards on Feb. 27, 2005
Category: Best actor
Morgan Freeman
Role and film: Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, Million Dollar Baby
Oscar win: 77th Academy Awards on Feb. 27, 2005
Category: Best supporting actor
Forest Whitaker
Role and film: Idi Amin, The Last King of Scotland
Oscar win: 79th Academy Awards on Feb. 25, 2007
Category: Best actor
