Katherine Biek
The Upcoming Congress Is The Most Racially Diverse In US History
But compared with the U.S. population, Congress is still disproportionately white and male.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:26 p.m. EST Jan 24, 2017
After two years of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, it seems the Academy is making progress.
Of the 20 actors nominated in lead and supporting categories for the 2017 Oscars, seven are people of color.
This is a big change from the past two years when no nonwhite actor was nominated for best actor, best actress, best supporting actor or best supporting actress. This sparked backlash, and the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag was created.
Even better? The seven spread across the four acting categories. Dev Patel and Mahershala Ali are up for best supporting actor. Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer are nominated for best supporting actress. And Ruth Negga and Denzel Washington are up for lead actress and actor, respectively.
The last time this many actors of color were nominated was in 2007. Both Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson took home Oscar statues that year.
This is Washington's seventh Oscar nomination for acting. He won best actor in a leading role in 2002 for his work in "Training Day" and best actor in a supporting role in 1990 for "Glory."
Meryl Streep continued her domination of Oscar nominations, earning her 20th — this time for lead actress in "Florence Foster Jenkins." That's the most nominations any actor has ever received in the award show's history.
And the acting categories weren't the only ones with more diversity.
Three films with predominantly black casts made the cut for best picture: "Fences," "Hidden Figures" and "Moonlight."
But the big winner could end up being "La La Land." The musical scored 14 nominations, tying "All About Eve" and "Titanic" for the most nominations in Oscars history.
To set a new record for the most Academy Award wins for a single film, "La La Land" will have to win at least 12 of those categories.
