The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally announced their nominees for the 88th Annual Academy Awards. With many films starring black actors and directors performing strong at the box office, many believed the nomination of a person of color was foreseeable. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. The 2016 Oscar nominations were in fact very white, with not a single person of color nominated thus starting the trending hashtag: #OscarsSoWhite. Films like "Straight Outta Compton" and "Creed" and "Concussion" with strong acting and box office numbers were completely ignored by the Academy. Many people were outraged by the nominations' lack of diversity. Black actors like Jada Pinkett Smith are even calling for a boycott of the Academy Awards. Jada made this comment after the nominees were announced:

Jada has point. Ever since people of color were allowed to participate in the film industry, very little recognition has been awarded to black movies, black actors, and black filmmakers. Take this, for example: Sidney Poitier was the first black man to win an Oscar for his performance in "Lilies in the Field," there would be a 38-year gap until that would happen again, with Denzel Washington winning an Oscar for his role in "Training Day." It took 38 years for a black man to win an Oscar, when in contrast, a white actor takes one home every year. With already very few Oscar wins by people of color, the lack of diversity in the 2016 Oscar nomination pool is troubling to black Hollywood. The Oscars is sure be interesting as ABC has booked comedian Chris Rock as host, and there is no doubt that Rock will poke jabs about the all white Oscar nominees.

With the potential of an Oscars boycott, black Hollywood should take it upon themselves to recognize films they feel are worthy of an Oscar nod. Why can’t black Hollywood have its own awards? Black movie supporters like Jada, and even Oprah could sit on the board and help decide who is worthy of the black Oscar, also known as an Omar. The Omar would recognize films which use a racially diverse cast and/or tell the story of a minority interest group. The Omar's would not be only for black films, but for people of other races and ethnicities who find themselves limited in Hollywood.

Here are my nominees for the 2016 Omar's:

Best Picture:

"Straight Outta Compton"

"Concussion"

"Beasts of No Nation"

"Creed"

"Dope"

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Will Smith - "Concussion"

Michal B. Jordan - "Creed"

John Boyega - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Sanaa Lathan - "The Perfect Guy"

(We need more roles for black women.)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Idris Elba - "Beasts of No Nation"

(We need more roles for black men.)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Phylicia Rashad - "Creed"

(We need more roles for black women.)

Best Director:

Rick Famuyiwa - "Dope"

Ryan Coogler - "Creed"

F. Gary Gary - "Straight Outta Compton"

Best Documentary:

"3 1/2 Minutes, Ad10 Bullets"

As you can see, we not only need an award show like the Omars, we also need more roles for people of color. Hollywood has a lot of homework to do and they need to start now. Keep the list going! Who would you nominate for the 2016 Omars?