Last decade, we had groundbreaking nominations and wins: Halle Berry and Denzel Washington winning best actress and best actor awards in 2002 for Monster's Ball and Training Day respectively; Jamie Foxx's 2005 best actor win for his stunning performance in Ray; Forest Whitaker's best actor win for The Last King of Scotland in 2006; and Jennifer Hudson's best supporting actress win in 2007 for Dreamgirls. It seemed that Oscar had finally found a consistent place in its heart for black actors.
Last year the winning streak continued with Oscars for Mo'Nique's best supporting actress role in Precious and for that movie's screenwriter, Geoffrey Fletcher, who made history when he became the first African American to win in the best adapted screenplay category. Then there was Roger Ross Williams' win in the short documentary category for Music by Prudence.
But the winning streak came to an abrupt halt this year. No African Americans were nominated for Academy Awards, even though there were some solid performances. If The Social Network can get nominated, which is one step up from a movie of the week, then why not Tanya Hamilton's Night Catches Us, which was quite excellent?
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