Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler Reflect on Being First Black Winners in Their Oscar Categories

“Black Panther” colleagues Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler made history at the 91st Oscars: They were the first black people to win Oscars in their respective categories.

Carter won for Best Costume Design and Beachler won for Best Production Design for their work on the hit Marvel film, and speaking backstage after accepting their awards, they shared why their achievements felt so significant.

“I dreamed of this night and I prayed for this night, not only for being a hard working costume designer, but what it would mean for people behind me,” Carter said in the Oscars press room. “We won’t have to wait for another first. We have the first.”

Also Read: 35 Landmark Oscar Wins (and Losses) That Could Happen This Year

Beachler said that for her, taking this job wasn’t about her desire to work on “Black Panther” but about convincing Marvel that she would be right and worthy for the job. She offered some advice to any other young black girls who might have such aspirations.

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do this craft. You are worthy, and you are beautiful, and this is for you,” Beachler said. “The advice that changed everything the most was when I arrived in Oakland all those years ago, with Ryan [Coogler], and he said, you know what, just be honest, just be truthful, just be you.”

Carter had some advice for her own younger self.

Also Read: How 'Black Panther' Designers Hannah Beachler and Ruth E Carter Built Wakanda With 'a Root in Africa and Functionality'

“I would tell my young self that, through the hard work, through whatever you might’ve felt, that you are doing the right thing,” Carter said. “But fear not, because tomorrow is yours.”

Beachler said when she stepped on the first completed set for “Black Panther,” the casino set, she kneeled down and cried, never believing that she would get to one day make something on the scale of a Marvel movie.

“It’s a collaborative medium,” Beachler said. “You lean on the people that you love. Your family. And I would consider Ryan and everyone else on ‘Black Panther’ part of my family.”

Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)

In 2019, Spike Lee became only the sixth Black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no Black filmmaker has won in that category.
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John Singleton, "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) • Two years after Spike Lee was passed over for a nomination for "Do the Right Thing," John Singleton became the first African American to earn a Best Director nomination for his star-studded drama set in South Central L.A. That year, Jonathan Demme won the award for "The Silence of the Lambs."
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Lee Daniels, "Precious" (2009) • Eighteen years passed before a second African American filmmaker was recognized: Lee Daniels, for his gritty portrait of a young woman seeking to overcome a childhood of poverty and abuse. In another Oscar first, Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director to win the Oscar, for "The Hurt Locker."
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Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave" (2013) • British director Steve McQueen gritty drama about American slavery picked up nine nominations, including one for his directing. While the film won Best Picture (and McQueen earned a statuette as a producer), he lost the directing prize to "Gravity" filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.
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Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight" (2016) • Jenkins' underdog indie pulled off a major upset, beating front-runner "La La Land" for Best Picture. But Damien Chazelle claimed the directing prize for the modern-day musical. (Jenkins did take home the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
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Jordan Peele, "Get Out" (2017) • Peele became the latest actor-turned-filmmaker to earn a Best Director nod, for his feature filmmaking debut. Peele won an Oscar for his original screenplay but Guillermo del Toro won Best Director for "The Shape of Water."
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Spike Lee, "BlackKklansman" (2018) • Despite wide acclaim for such films as 1989's "Do the Right Thing" and 1992's "Malcolm X," the pioneering filmmaker earned his first nomination decades into his career for this fact-based tale of a Black undercover cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. Lee shared the Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the film, but Alfonso Cuarón took home Best Director for "Roma."
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Will Regina King join the club this year for her work on ”One Night in Miami“?

In 2019, Spike Lee became only the sixth Black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no Black filmmaker has won in that category.

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Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)

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