First Blacks to Win Academy Awards

Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Academy Award, in 1940.

First Blacks to Win Academy Awards

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone / Notes
Best Actor in a Leading Role
1958	Sidney Poitier	The Defiant Ones	Noah Cullen	Nominated	First Black actor to be nominated for Best Actor.
1963	Sidney Poitier	Lilies of the Field	Homer Smith	Won	First Black man to win a competitive Oscar. First Bahamian to win Best Actor. First Black actor to receive two acting nominations (Best Actor). Youngest Black actor to win Best Actor (age 37).
1970	James Earl Jones	The Great White Hope	Jack Jefferson	Nominated
1972	Paul Winfield	Sounder	Nathan Lee Morgan	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
1986	Dexter Gordon	Round Midnight	Dale Turner	Nominated	First jazz musician to be nominated for Best Actor.
1989	Morgan Freeman	Driving Miss Daisy	Hoke Colburn	Nominated
1992	Denzel Washington	Malcolm X	Malcolm X	Nominated
1993	Laurence Fishburne	What’s Love Got to Do with It	Ike Turner	Nominated	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
1994	Morgan Freeman	The Shawshank Redemption	Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding	Nominated
1999	Denzel Washington	The Hurricane	Rubin Carter	Nominated
2001	Denzel Washington	Training Day	Alonzo Harris	Won	Second African-American actor to receive the award for Best Actor. First time two African-American performers won Oscars in the same year (Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball). First African-American actor to win multiple competitive Academy Awards. First and only African-American actor to win Academy Awards in both acting categories (lead and supporting).
2001	Will Smith	Ali	Muhammad Ali	Nominated	First time multiple African-American actors nominated for Best Actor in the same year.
2004	Jamie Foxx	Ray	Ray Charles	Won	First African-American to receive two acting nominations in the same year.
2004	Don Cheadle	Hotel Rwanda	Paul Rusesabagina	Nominated
2005	Terrence Howard	Hustle & Flow	DJay	Nominated
2006	Forest Whitaker	The Last King of Scotland	Idi Amin	Won
2006	Will Smith	The Pursuit of Happyness	Chris Gardner	Nominated
2009	Morgan Freeman	Invictus	Nelson Mandela	Nominated
2012	Denzel Washington	Flight	William “Whip” Whitaker	Nominated
2013	Chiwetel Ejiofor	12 Years a Slave	Solomon Northup	Nominated	First Black British actor to be nominated for Best Actor.
2016	Denzel Washington	Fences	Troy Maxson	Nominated	First Black actor to be nominated for both acting and producing (Best Picture) in the same year.
2017	Denzel Washington	Roman J. Israel, Esq.	Roman J. Israel	Nominated	Denzel Washington is the first African-American actor to be nominated two years in a row.
2017	Daniel Kaluuya	Get Out	Chris Washington	Nominated	Second Black British actor to be nominated for Best Actor.
2020	Chadwick Boseman	Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom	Levee Green	Nominated	First African-American actor to receive a posthumous nomination. Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
2021	Will Smith	King Richard	Richard Williams	Won	Second Black actor, and ninth overall, to be nominated for both acting and producing (Best Picture) in the same year.
2021	Denzel Washington	The Tragedy of Macbeth	Lord Macbeth	Nominated	Denzel Washington has the most nominations for an African-American actor: Best Actor (7 nominations) and Best Supporting Actor (2 nominations). First African-American actor to receive a nomination for their performance in a Shakespeare adaptation.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone / Notes
Best Actress in a Leading Role
1954	Dorothy Dandridge	Carmen Jones	Carmen Jones	Nominated	First African-American actress to be nominated for Best Actress.
1972	Diana Ross	Lady Sings the Blues	Billie Holiday	Nominated	First African-American actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance. First time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.
1972	Cicely Tyson	Sounder	Rebecca Morgan	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress. First time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.
1974	Diahann Carroll	Claudine	Claudine	Nominated
1985	Whoopi Goldberg	The Color Purple	Celie Johnson	Nominated	Debut film performance. First time multiple African-American actresses received nominations for the same film for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
1993	Angela Bassett	What’s Love Got to Do with It	Tina Turner	Nominated	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
2001	Halle Berry	Monster’s Ball	Leticia Musgrove	Won	First African-American actress to win Best Actress. First person of color to win Best Actress. First time two African-American performers won Oscars in the same year (Denzel Washington, Training Day).
2009	Gabourey Sidibe	Precious	Claireece “Precious” Jones	Nominated	Debut film performance. Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
2011	Viola Davis	The Help	Aibileen Clark	Nominated	Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Supporting Actress categories.
2012	Quvenzhané Wallis	Beasts of the Southern Wild	Hushpuppy	Nominated	Debut film performance. At age 9, youngest ever Best Actress nominee. First person born in the 21st century to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2016	Ruth Negga	Loving	Mildred Loving	Nominated	First Black Irish actress to be nominated. First Black African (Ethiopia) actress to be nominated for Lead Actress.
2019	Cynthia Erivo	Harriet	Harriet Tubman	Nominated	First Black British actress to be nominated. Second Black woman to receive multiple Oscar nominations in the same year. Third person nominated for an acting award and a music award (Best Original Song) in the same year. First Nigerian to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2020	Viola Davis	Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom	Ma Rainey	Nominated	Most nominated African-American actress, with four nominations. First Black actress to receive two nominations for Best Actress. Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress. Second time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.
2020	Andra Day	The United States vs. Billie Holiday	Billie Holiday	Nominated	Second time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone / Notes
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1969	Rupert Crosse	The Reivers	Ned	Nominated	First African-American actor to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
1981	Howard E. Rollins Jr.	Ragtime	Coalhouse Walker Jr.	Nominated	Debut film performance.
1982	Louis Gossett Jr.	An Officer and a Gentleman	Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley	Won	First African-American actor to win Best Supporting Actor.
1984	Adolph Caesar	A Soldier’s Story	Sgt. Waters	Nominated
1987	Morgan Freeman	Street Smart	Fast Black	Nominated	First time multiple African-American actors received Best Supporting Actor nominations.
1987	Denzel Washington	Cry Freedom	Steve Biko	Nominated
1989	Denzel Washington	Glory	Pvt. Trip	Won	First African-American actor to receive two Best Supporting Actor nominations.
1992	Jaye Davidson	The Crying Game	Dil	Nominated	Debut film performance. Youngest Black actor to receive an Academy Award nomination (age 24) First Black British actor to receive an Academy Award nomination. First out Black actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.
1994	Samuel L. Jackson	Pulp Fiction	Jules Winnfield	Nominated
1996	Cuba Gooding Jr.	Jerry Maguire	Rod Tidwell	Won	Youngest African-American male actor to win an Academy Award (age 29).
1999	Michael Clarke Duncan	The Green Mile	John Coffey	Nominated
2003	Djimon Hounsou	In America	Mateo	Nominated	First Black actor born in Africa (specifically in Benin) to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2004	Morgan Freeman	Million Dollar Baby	Eddie ‘Scrap-Iron’ Dupris	Won	Oldest African-American actor to win an Academy Award (age 67).
2004	Jamie Foxx	Collateral	Max	Nominated	First African-American to receive two acting nominations in the same year.
2006	Djimon Hounsou	Blood Diamond	Solomon Vandy	Nominated
2006	Eddie Murphy	Dreamgirls	James ‘Thunder’ Early	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
2013	Barkhad Abdi	Captain Phillips	Abduwali Muse	Nominated	Debut film performance. Second Black actor born in Africa (specifically in Somalia) to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2016	Mahershala Ali	Moonlight	Juan	Won	Second film to feature Black nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. First Muslim actor to win an Oscar. First time two African-American performers won in supporting role Oscars in the same year (Viola Davis, Fences).
2018	Mahershala Ali	Green Book	Don Shirley	Won	Second time two African-American performers won supporting role Oscars in the same year (Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk). First African-American actor to win two Oscars in the same category. Second African-American actor to win multiple competitive Academy Awards.
2020	Daniel Kaluuya	Judas and the Black Messiah	Fred Hampton	Won	First Black British actor to win an acting Oscar. First Black British actor to receive multiple Academy Award nominations. First film to have multiple black actors to be nominated in the same category for the same film.
	Lakeith Stanfield	Judas and the Black Messiah	William O’Neal	Nominated	First film to have multiple black actors to be nominated in the same category for the same film.
	Leslie Odom Jr.	One Night in Miami…	Sam Cooke	Nominated	First African-American man to receive Academy Award nominations in the same year for acting and songwriting. Fourth person overall, third Black person, and first Black man nominated for an Academy Award for acting and songwriting in the same year.
2022	Brian Tyree Henry	Causeway	James Aucoin	Nominated

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone / Notes
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1939	Hattie McDaniel	Gone with the Wind	Mammy	Won	First African American to win and be nominated for an Academy Award.
1949	Ethel Waters	Pinky	Mrs. Dicey Johnson (Pinky’s Granny)	Nominated	Second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award.
1959	Juanita Moore	Imitation of Life	Annie Johnson	Nominated
1967	Beah Richards	Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner	Mrs. Prentice	Nominated
1983	Alfre Woodard	Cross Creek	Geechee	Nominated
1985	Margaret Avery	The Color Purple	Shug Avery	Nominated	First time multiple African-American actresses from the same film are nominated in the same category. First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Winfrey’s debut film performance.
1985	Oprah Winfrey	The Color Purple	Sofia	Nominated
1990	Whoopi Goldberg	Ghost	Oda Mae Brown	Won	First African-American actress to receive two acting nominations. Second African-American actress to win Best Supporting Actress.
1996	Marianne Jean-Baptiste	Secrets & Lies	Hortense Cumberbatch	Nominated	First Black British actress to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2002	Queen Latifah	Chicago	Matron Mama Morton	Nominated	First female hip hop artist to be nominated for an Academy Award.
2004	Sophie Okonedo	Hotel Rwanda	Tatiana Rusesabagina	Nominated	Second Black British actress to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2006	Jennifer Hudson	Dreamgirls	Effie White	Won	Debut film performance. Youngest African-American to win an Academy Award (age 25) First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
2007	Ruby Dee	American Gangster	Mama Lucas	Nominated	At age 83, oldest African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.
2008	Viola Davis	Doubt	Mrs. Miller	Nominated	First time two films have Black performers nominated for Supporting Actress in the same year.
2008	Taraji P. Henson	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Queenie	Nominated	First time two films to have Black performers to be nominated for Supporting Actress in the same year.
2009	Mo’Nique	Precious	Mary Lee Johnston	Won	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
2011	Octavia Spencer	The Help	Minny Jackson	Won	Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Supporting Actress.
2013	Lupita Nyong’o	12 Years a Slave	Patsey	Won	Debut film performance. First Black African (Kenyan) actress to be nominated. First Black African to win in any category. First Black Mexican to be nominated and win in any category. First Afro-Latina actress to be nominated and win an Academy Award.
2016	Viola Davis	Fences	Rose Maxson	Won	First time two African-American performers won in supporting role Oscars in the same year (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight).
	Naomie Harris	Moonlight	Paula	Nominated	Third Black British actress to receive an Academy Award nomination. Second film to feature Black nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
	Octavia Spencer	Hidden Figures	Dorothy Vaughan	Nominated	Third Black actress following Whoopi Goldberg and Viola Davis to earn multiple Oscar nominations. First Black actress to be nominated after previously winning. First time three films have Black performers nominated for Supporting Actress in the same year.
2017	Octavia Spencer	The Shape of Water	Zelda Fuller	Nominated	First Black actress to be nominated twice after previously winning. First Black actress to be nominated two years in a row.
2017	Mary J. Blige	Mudbound	Florence Jackson	Nominated	First Black woman to receive multiple Oscar nominations in the same year. First person nominated for an acting award and a music award (Best Original Song) in the same year.
2018	Regina King	If Beale Street Could Talk	Sharon Rivers	Won	Second time two African-American performers won supporting Oscars in the same year (Mahershala Ali, Green Book).
2021	Ariana DeBose	West Side Story	Anita	Won	First Black, African-American, Afro-Latina queer actress to be nominated and win in any acting category.
2021	Aunjanue Ellis	King Richard	Oracene “Brandy” Price	Nominated
2022	Angela Bassett^[1]	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Queen Ramonda	Nominated	First actor nominated for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. First actress nominated for a comic book film. Fourth Black actress to be nominated twice.^[2]

Best Animated Feature

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
2018	Peter Ramsey	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	Won	Shared with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Bob Persichetti & Rodney Rothman First African American to be nominated for and to win for Animated Feature.

Best Cinematography

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
1998	Remi Adefarasin	Elizabeth	Nominated	First Black person to be nominated for Best Cinematography.
2016	Bradford Young	Arrival	Nominated	First African American to be nominated in the category.

Best Costume Design

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
1992	Ruth E. Carter	Malcolm X	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Costume Design.
1997	Ruth E. Carter	Amistad	Nominated
2004	Sharen Davis	Ray	Nominated
2006	Sharen Davis	Dreamgirls	Nominated
2018	Ruth E. Carter^[3]	Black Panther	Won	First African American to win for Best Costume Design.
2021	Paul Tazewell	West Side Story	Nominated	First African American male costume designer to be nominated for Best Costume Design.
2022	Ruth E. Carter	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Won	First African American woman to win any two competitive Academy Awards.^[4]

Best Director

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Director
1991	John Singleton	Boyz n the Hood	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Director. Youngest person ever nominated in this category (age 24).
2009	Lee Daniels	Precious	Nominated	First African American director to earn a Best Picture nomination.
2013	Steve McQueen	12 Years a Slave	Nominated	First Black director whose film won an Oscar for Best Picture. First Black British person to earn a Best Director nomination.
2016	Barry Jenkins	Moonlight	Nominated	Second Black director to direct a Best Picture-winning film.. First African-American director to direct a Best Picture-winning film.
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Nominated	First African American to earn a Best Director nomination and a Best Picture nomination for a debut film.
2018	Spike Lee	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated

Best Documentary Feature

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
1987	Callie Crossley (director/producer)	Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years/Bridge to Freedom 1965	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Shared with James A. DeVinney.
1990	Yvonne Smith (producer)	Adam Clayton Powell	Nominated	Shared with Richard Kilberg.
1993	William Miles (director/producer)	Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II	Nominated
1997	Spike Lee (director/producer) Samuel D. Pollard (producer)	4 Little Girls	Nominated
2004	Karolyn Ali (producer)	Tupac: Resurrection	Nominated
2012	T. J. Martin (director)	Undefeated	Won	First African American to win in this category.
2016	Ava DuVernay (director/producer)	13th	Nominated
	Roger Ross Williams (director/producer)	Life, Animated	Nominated	Shared with Julie Goldman.
	Raoul Peck (director/producer) Hébert Peck (producer)	I Am Not Your Negro	Nominated	First Haitians to be nominated in this category.
	Ezra Edelman (director/producer)	O.J.: Made in America	Won
2017	Yance Ford (director/producer)	Strong Island	Nominated	First openly transgender man to be nominated for any Academy Award. First openly transgender director to be nominated for any Academy Award. Shared with Joslyn Barnes.
2018	RaMell Ross (director/producer)	Hale County This Morning, This Evening	Nominated	Shared with Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim.
2020	Garrett Bradley (director/producer) Lauren Domino (producer)	Time	Nominated	Shared with Kellen Quinn.
2021	Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (director)	Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)	Won	Shared with Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein.
	Stanley Nelson (director/producer) Traci A. Curry (director/producer)	Attica	Nominated

Best Documentary Short Subject

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject
2000	Leelai Demoz	On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom	Nominated	Shared with Eric Simonson. First African American to be nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.
2009	Roger Ross Williams	Music by Prudence	Won	Shared with Elinor Burkett. First African American to win Best Documentary Short Subject.
2020	Kris Bowers	A Concerto Is a Conversation	Nominated	Shared with Ben Proudfoot.
2020	Sophia Nahli Allison Janice Duncan	A Love Song for Latasha	Nominated	First African American women to be nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Best Film Editing

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
1969	Hugh A. Robertson	Midnight Cowboy	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Editing.
2016	Joi McMillon	Moonlight	Nominated	First African American woman to be nominated for Best Editing. Shared with Nat Sanders.

Best International Feature Film

In the International Feature Film category (formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film), although the Oscar is presented to and accepted by the film’s director, the submitting country is officially credited as the nominee, not the director.^[5] The following is a list of films directed by Black people which have been nominated for Best International Feature Film.

Year	Director	Country	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
1995	Rachid Bouchareb	Algeria	Dust of Life	Nominated	First Black director whose film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
2006			Days of Glory	Nominated	First African director to have multiple films nominated for Best Foreign Language film.
2010			Outside the Law	Nominated	First African director whose films have received three nominations for Best Foreign Language Film.
2013	Abderrahmane Sissako	Mauritania	Timbuktu	Nominated
2019	Ladj Ly	France	Les Miserables	Nominated	First non-African film directed by a Black director to be nominated in this category.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
2020	Mia Neal Jamika Wilson^[6]	Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom	Won	First African Americans to be nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Shared with Sergio López-Rivera.
2021	Carla Farmer Stacey Morris	Coming 2 America	Nominated	Shared with Mike Marino.
2022	Camille Friend^[7]	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Nominated	Shared with Joel Harlow.

Best Music, Original Score

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Original Score
1961	Duke Ellington	Paris Blues	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Original Score. Nominated for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
1964	Calvin Jackson	The Unsinkable Molly Brown	Nominated	Shared with Robert Armbruster, Leo Arnaud, Jack Elliott, Jack Hayes & Leo Shuken.
1967	Quincy Jones	In Cold Blood	Nominated
1972	Isaac Hayes	Shaft	Nominated	Nominated for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.
1972	Gil Askey	Lady Sings the Blues	Nominated	First African American to be nominated in the Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation (which is different from Best Original Score category).
1978	Quincy Jones	The Wiz	Nominated	First African American to be nominated in the Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score (which is different from Best Original Score category).
1984	Prince	Purple Rain	Won	First African American winner of Best Original Song Score (which is different from Best Original Score category); this category was retired afterwards.
1985	Quincy Jones Andrae Crouch Caiphus Semenya	The Color Purple	Nominated	Shared nomination with 9 other composers. Semenya became the first Black South African to be nominated for an Academy Award.
1986	Herbie Hancock	Round Midnight	Won	First African-American winner of Best Original Score.
1987	Jonas Gwangwa	Cry Freedom	Nominated	Shared with George Fenton.
2018	Terence Blanchard	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated
2020	Terence Blanchard	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated	First African American to receive multiple solo nominations for Best Original Score. First time multiple African Americans received a nomination for Best Original Score in the same year.
2020	Jon Batiste	Soul	Won	First time multiple African Americans received a nomination for Best Original Score in the same year. Shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Best Music, Original Song

Year	Name	Film	Song	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Original Song
1967	Quincy Jones Bob Russell	Banning	“The Eyes of Love”	Nominated	First African Americans to be nominated for Best Original Song.
1968	Quincy Jones Bob Russell	For Love of Ivy	“For Love of Ivy”	Nominated	First African Americans to be nominated twice for Best Original Song.
1972	Isaac Hayes	Shaft	“Theme from Shaft“	Won	First African-American winner for Best Original Song. First African-American to win a non-acting award.
1981	Lionel Richie	Endless Love	“Endless Love“	Nominated
1983	Irene Cara	Flashdance	“Flashdance… What a Feeling“	Won	First African-American woman to win a non-acting Academy Award. Shared with Keith Forsey & Giorgio Moroder.
1984	Stevie Wonder	The Woman in Red	“I Just Called to Say I Love You“	Won
1984	Ray Parker Jr.	Ghostbusters	“Ghostbusters“	Nominated
1985	Lionel Richie	White Nights	“Say You, Say Me“	Won
1985	Quincy Jones Lionel Richie	The Color Purple	“Miss Celie’s Blues“	Nominated	Shared nomination with Rod Temperton Richie is the first (and to date, only) Black person to receive multiple Best Original Song nominations in the same year.
1987	Jonas Gwangwa	Cry Freedom	“Cry Freedom”	Nominated	First Black South African to be nominated in this category. Shared with George Fenton.
1988	Lamont Dozier	Buster	“Two Hearts“	Nominated	Shared with Phil Collins.
1993	Janet Jackson Jimmy Jam Terry Lewis	Poetic Justice	“Again“	Nominated
1993	James Ingram	Beethoven’s 2nd	“The Day I Fall In Love”	Nominated	Shared with Cliff Magness and Carole Bayer Sager.
1994	James Ingram	Junior	“Look What Love Has Done”	Nominated	Shared with James Newton Howard, Carole Bayer Sager, and Patty Smyth.
2005	Frayser Boy Juicy J DJ Paul	Hustle & Flow	“It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp“	Won	First African-American rappers to win an Academy Award.
2006	Siedah Garrett	Dreamgirls	“Love You I Do“	Nominated	Shared with Henry Krieger.
2007	Jamal Joseph Charles Mack Tevin Thomas	August Rush	“Raise It Up“	Nominated
2011	Carlinhos Brown Siedah Garrett	Rio	“Real in Rio”	Nominated	Shared with Sergio Mendes. Garrett is the most nominated African-American female songwriter (two nominations). Brown is the first Black Latin American nominated for Best Original Song.
2013	Pharrell Williams	Despicable Me 2	“Happy“	Nominated
2014	Common John Legend	Selma	“Glory“	Won
2015	DaHeala The Weeknd	Fifty Shades of Grey	“Earned It“	Nominated	Shared with Belly and Stephan Moccio. The Weeknd & DaHeala are the first Black Canadians nominated for Best Original Song.
2017	Mary J. Blige Raphael Saadiq Taura Stinson	Mudbound	“Mighty River“	Nominated	Blige is also the first Black woman to receive multiple Academy Award nominations in the same year. First person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and writing an original song in the same year.
2017	Common	Marshall	“Stand Up for Something“	Nominated	Shared with Diane Warren.
2018	Kendrick Lamar Sounwave SZA Anthony Tiffith	Black Panther	“All the Stars“	Nominated
2019	Cynthia Erivo Joshuah Brian Campbell	Harriet	“Stand Up“	Nominated	Second Black woman to receive multiple Academy Award nominations in the same year. Second person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and writing an original song in the same year.
2020	H.E.R. D’Mile Tiara Thomas	Judas and the Black Messiah	“Fight For You“	Won
	Leslie Odom Jr.	One Night in Miami…	“Speak Now”	Nominated	First Black man to receive Academy Award nominations in the acting and music categories. Third person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and writing an original song in the same year. Shared with Sam Ashworth.
	Celeste	The Trial of the Chicago 7	“Hear My Voice”	Nominated	Shared with Daniel Pemberton.
2021	Beyoncé DIXSON	King Richard	“Be Alive“	Nominated
2022	Ryan Coogler Rihanna Tems^[8]	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	“Lift Me Up“	Nominated	Shared with Ludwig Goransson.

Best Picture

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Picture
1985	Quincy Jones	The Color Purple	Nominated	First African American producer whose film was nominated for Best Picture.
2009	Lee Daniels	Precious	Nominated	First African American director whose film was nominated for Best Picture. First time two films with African American producers were nominated for Best Picture.
2009	Broderick Johnson	The Blind Side	Nominated
2012	Reginald Hudlin	Django Unchained	Nominated
2013	Steve McQueen	12 Years a Slave	Won	First Black director and producer to win Best Picture.
2014	Oprah Winfrey	Selma	Nominated	First Black female producer nominated for Best Picture.
2016	Denzel Washington	Fences	Nominated	First time that three films with Black producers were nominated for Best Picture.
	Pharrell Williams	Hidden Figures	Nominated
	Kimberly Steward	Manchester by the Sea	Nominated
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Nominated
2018	Spike Lee Jordan Peele	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated	The first Best Picture nominee to have more than one African American producer. Peele is the first African American producer to be nominated for Best Picture twice. Shared with Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, and Sean McKittrick
2020	Shaka King Charles D. King Ryan Coogler	Judas and the Black Messiah	Nominated	First Best Picture nominee to have more than two African-American producers. First Best Picture nominee to have all black producers.
2021	Will Smith	King Richard	Nominated	Shared with Tim White and Trevor White.

Best Production Design

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Production Design
2018	Hannah Beachler	Black Panther	Won	First African American to be nominated for and to win Best Production Design. Shared with Jay Hart.

Best Short Film (Animated)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
2017	Kobe Bryant	Dear Basketball	Won	Shared nomination with Glen Keane. First African American to win Short Film (Animated). First former professional athlete to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award in any category. First person to win both an Olympic medal and an Academy Award.
2019	Matthew A. Cherry Karen Rupert Toliver	Hair Love	Won	Cherry is the second former professional athlete to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award in any category. Toliver is the first Black woman to win Short Film (Animated).

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
1991	David Massey	Last Breeze of Summer	Nominated	First African American nominated for Short Film (Live Action).
1995	Dianne Houston	Tuesday Morning Ride	Nominated	First African-American woman nominated for Short Film (Live Action).
2014	James Lucas	The Phone Call	Won	First Black person to win in this category
2017	Kevin Wilson Jr.	My Nephew Emmett	Nominated
2020	Travon Free	Two Distant Strangers	Won	First Black-American to win in this category

Best Sound

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Sound
1978	Willie D. Burton	The Buddy Holly Story	Nominated	First African American to be nominated for Best Sound.
1980		Altered States	Nominated	First African American to be nominated multiple times for Best Sound.
1983		WarGames	Nominated
1988		Bird	Won	First African American to win Best Sound.
1989	Russell Williams II	Glory	Won	Second African American to win Best Sound.
1990	Russell Williams II	Dances with Wolves	Won	First African American to win multiple Academy Awards in any category. First and only African American to win consecutive awards in any category.
1994	Willie D. Burton	The Shawshank Redemption	Nominated
1999		The Green Mile	Nominated
2006		Dreamgirls	Won	From 2003 through 2019, the Best Sound category was known as “Best Sound Mixing”. The third African American to win two competitive Academy Awards.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Year	Name	Film	Adapted From	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
1972	Lonne Elder III	Sounder	Sounder by William H. Armstrong	Nominated	First African-American nominee for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). First African-American nominated for screenwriting, along with Suzanne de Passe for Lady Sings the Blues nominated the same year for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
1984	Charles Fuller	A Soldier’s Story	A Soldier’s Play by Fuller	Nominated
2009	Geoffrey Fletcher	Precious	Push by Sapphire	Won	First African American to win a screenplay Academy Award (Adapted Screenplay).
2013	John Ridley	12 Years a Slave	Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup	Won	First African-American writer to have written a film that won Best Picture.
2016	Barry Jenkins Tarell Alvin McCraney	Moonlight	In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney	Won	First film to have two African-American screenwriters nominated. Second film to have African-American writers that won Best Picture. First time two films written by African Americans were nominated in the same year.
2016	August Wilson	Fences	Fences by Wilson	Nominated	First African-American writer to receive a posthumous nomination in this category. First time two films written by African Americans were nominated in the same year.
2017	Virgil Williams Dee Rees	Mudbound	Mudbound by Hillary Jordan	Nominated	Rees is the second Black woman to be nominated for a Screenplay Oscar.^[9] Rees is the first black woman to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
2018	Kevin Willmott Spike Lee	BlacKkKlansman	Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth	Won	Shared with Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz. Lee is the first Black screenwriter to be nominated for both Best Original and Best Adapted Screenplay. Lee is the first Black filmmaker to win a competitive Oscar after receiving an Honorary Academy Award. Along with Barry Jenkins nominated the same year for If Beale Street Could Talk, Lee and Jenkins are the first two black people to be nominated for screenwriting twice.
2018	Barry Jenkins	If Beale Street Could Talk	If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin	Nominated	First Black person to have two nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. Along with Spike Lee nominated the same year for BlacKkKlansman, Jenkins and Lee are the first two Black people to be nominated for screenwriting twice.
2020	Kemp Powers	One Night in Miami…	One Night in Miami by Powers	Nominated

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
1972	Suzanne de Passe	Lady Sings the Blues	Nominated	Shared nomination with co-writers Chris Clark and Terence McCloy. First African-American nominee for Best Writing (Original Screenplay). First African-American nominated for screenwriting, along with Lonne Elder for Sounder nominated the same year for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). First African-American woman nominated for screenwriting. First African-American woman nominated for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
1989	Spike Lee	Do the Right Thing	Nominated	First African-American man nominated for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
1991	John Singleton	Boyz n the Hood	Nominated	Youngest person to be nominated in this category (age 24).
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Won	First African American to be nominated for and to win Best Writing (Original Screenplay) overall, for a debut film.
2020	Shaka King Kenny Lucas Keith Lucas	Judas and the Black Messiah	Nominated	First film to have multiple African-American screenwriters nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Shared with Will Berson.

Special awards

Year	Name	Award
Special Awards
1947	James Baskett	Academy Special Award, for his characterization of Uncle Remus in Song of the South. First Black man to receive an Oscar.
1995	Quincy Jones	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2001	Sidney Poitier	Academy Honorary Award, “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence”.
2011	James Earl Jones	Academy Honorary Award, “for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility”
2011	Oprah Winfrey	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2014	Harry Belafonte	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2015	Spike Lee	Academy Honorary Award, “filmmaker, educator, motivator, iconoclast, artist […] [and] a champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers”
2017	Charles Burnett	Academy Honorary Award, “A resolutely independent and influential film pioneer who has chronicled the lives of Black Americans with eloquence and insight.”
2018	Cicely Tyson	Academy Honorary Award, “Whose unforgettable performances and personal integrity have inspired generations of filmmakers, actors and audiences”
2020	Tyler Perry	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2021	Danny Glover	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2021	Samuel L. Jackson	Academy Honorary Award, “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across decades and generations and audiences worldwide”
2022	Euzhan Palcy	Academy Honorary Award, “a pioneering filmmaker whose groundbreaking significance in international cinema is cemented in film history”