Halle Berry’s Oscar Win

When Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball at the 2003 Academy Awards, the announcer said, “This is Halle Berry’s first Oscar.” No kidding. The Oscar buzz that season was almost entirely about a far bigger Berry first: would she become the first African-American actress to take home the top acting prize? But despite all the hooplah—not to mention Berry’s tear-smeared, five-minute acceptance speech—we forget that African-Americans had much to cheer about that night. Whoopi Goldberg was the host. Denzel Washington won best actor for Training Day. Even more impressive, the night did not turn out to be an anomaly. Since then, actress Jennifer Hudson has won a best supporting Oscar for Dreamgirls. Taraji Henson and Viola Davis have been nominated. This year, Precious—about an overweight inner-city girl who triumphs in school despite her monster of a mother—is a frontrunner in the early Oscar sweepstakes in a number of categories, including best director. Has Hollywood suddenly gone colorblind? Of course not. But it does seem like the days when a film such as The Color Purple came up empty are gone for good.