On Sunday night, the Oscars aired on ABC. Although I am not really into the whole glitz and glamour of tinsel town's biggest night of the year, this year was different. There were a lot more African Americans in attendance than last year, and that is because of the protests that took place.The snubbing of African Americans during last year's protests irritated many minority actors--so much so that the idea of boycotting the Oscars began to float around. The twitter hashtag #Oscarssowhite began to trend on twitter and Facebook, and therefore celebrities and average Joes alike began to promote the idea of boycotting the Oscars. This idea was crazy at first, but it soon began to gain traction. As a result, the 2016 Oscars aired with a black host, Chris Rock, but not a lot of African Americans were in attendance, and ratings hit an eight-year low.

Due to the fact that African Americans were snubbed, it would make sense that the ratings would be low and no one who won an Oscar in 2016 was African American--and those who won did not get much fan fare. This year however, was different in a sense that the Academy made sure that they choose their fair share of African Americans. For this year's Oscars, there were no disappointments among the black community and the best supporting actress award went to Viola Davis for her role in "Fences." Another black recipient was Mahershala Ali for his role in "Moonlight." I personally feel that the academy did not do the African American community any favors by keeping them in the dark last year. I feel that they should have at least explained the dilemma that occurred with the lack of African American nominees.

The Academy is striving to recognize those who are striving to make a difference in Hollywood and are making history while doing it. I will say that African Americans have made history over the past 15 years by winning Oscars. I believe the Academy will strive to recognize African Americans and all minorities in the future, and that is because they are honoring films from around the world as well. Last night, an Oscar was awarded to "The Salesman" for best foreign language film. The winner paid homage to his country and condemned the U.S.'s decision to keep the refugees out--he did not attend the Oscars for that reason. Although the number of minorities who win Oscars compared to Caucasians who win Oscars is still low, more African American directors are stepping up to make powerful movies. And, to be fair, many of the movies that have impacted me in recent memory were made by Caucasian directors.

I am happy that the Academy has made strides towards recognizing African Americans in films, and I hope that it will stay this way. I feel that the diversity is increasing and my hope is that it will continue in future years.