Breyionna Flowers
MC Contributor
As Hollywood stars and celebrities strutted down the red carpet and fans took their places on the couch in front of their televisions, many were unaware of just how groundbreaking the 2015 Emmy Awards would be.
On Sept. 20, 2015, history was made when Viola Davis became the first African-American actress to win a primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as a professor of law in “How to Get Away with Murder.”
The Emmy Awards, like other artistic award shows, have always been a battle for African-Americans, according to the acceptance speeches of many African-American actresses throughout the years. Prior to Davis’s win, only five other actresses have been nominated for the award since 1982. One of them, Debbie Allen, had been nominated four consecutive times for her role in “Fame”, and still never won.
Only five other African-American actresses were nominated that night: Taraji P. Henson for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in “Empire”; Regina King for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series in “American Crime”; Mo’Nique for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in “Bessie”; Niecy Nash for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in “Getting On”; and Uzo Aduba for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in “Orange is the New Black”.
Out of these, King and Adubda walked away with the prize.
In her acceptance speech, Davis addressed that battle, quoting Harriet Tubman:
“In my mind, I see a line. And over that line I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful, white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line. But I cannot seem to get there no how,” said Davis.
Davis went on to speak about the struggle for black actresses in a white-dominated industry. She said, “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”
Yolanda Williams, a visiting assistant professor/production manager in the speech communication department said, “Her speech touched on everything that affects black women, women of color, black people, and people of color. With everything going on in the world, this is why we have to push for diversity in film, diversity in television and diversity in theatre.”
While many professionals, such as Taraji P. Henson of “Empire, Tracee Ellis Ross of “Black-ish”, Lori Loughlin of “Full House”, Kerry Washington of “Scandal”, and Vanessa Bell Calloway of “Coming to America” all tweeted their admiration for Davis’s speech, others’ thoughts were the exact opposite. “General Hospital” soap opera star Nancy Lee Grahn faced extreme backlash after she created several tweets, condemning Davis’s speech.
One of her tweets said, “and I heard Harriet Tubman and I thought, it’s an f****** Emmy for God’s sake. She was not digging through a tunnel.”
Another of Grahn’s tweets even went so far as to discredit Davis’s speech and insist that there is no struggle or lack of opportunity for black actress. It said, “As brilliant as she is, she has never been discriminated against.”
Despite the negative comments, others found Davis’ win to be a long-overdue victory for black actresses and black women as a whole. Attorney Rhonda C. Cooper, clinical assistant professor and pre-law advisor, noted the progression of film roles for black women from mammies and drug addicts to lawyers and business owners.
“Viola’s role does away with all the negative stereotypes. It shows that you can be a 100 percent woman of color and be valued and appreciated on the screen. We’ve come a long way from the Hattie McDaniel and Halle Berry roles,” said Cooper.
