Sunday, September 22, 2013

The Emmy Blackout Continues

For the first time in several years I actually sat down to watch the Emmy Awards because of Kerry Washington's potential to make history tonight.

No African-American actress has ever won the Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series category, and with her nomination for Scandal, Washington was the first African-American actress to be nominated in this category in the 21st century and the first since 1995.

Debbie Allen (“Fame”; 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985), Alfre Woodard (“St. Elsewhere”; 1986), Regina Taylor (“I’ll Fly Away”; 1992, 1993) and Cicely Tyson (“Sweet Justice”; 1995) were the four previous African-American women nominated in this category who didn't get the win.

So hopes were high that she'd finally end that drought but alas the blackout continues. 

She didn't win the Emmy tonight, Claire Danes won her third.   Don Cheadle and Alfre Woodard didn't win in their categories either.

And they wonder why African-Americans don't tune into the Emmys and Oscars and we have our own awards shows.  It's because we're tired of watching our people bust their ass, do the work to get nominated and get screwed.

That's okay Kerry, we love you and know you should have been standing up there making history tonight.
   
Another season of Scandal starts October 3, so let's hope the Academy rectifies their error, nominates her again in 2014 and this time she wins it.

No comments: