Despite it being the 90th year of the Academy Awards, African-Americans are still just now reaching firsts. A positive spin on this is: history was made.
Jordan Peele made history by becoming the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for the film Get Out. Peele was also nominated in the Directing category for Get Out, and Daniel Kaluuya was a nominee in the Actor in a Leading Role category for Get Out. Get Out was also nominated for Best Picture.
Another notable win was Kobe Bryant, along with Glen Keane, for Dear Basketball in the Short Film (Animated) category. Kobe Bryant became the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Other nominees included Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.) for Actor in a Leading Role, Mary J. Blige (Mudbound) and Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water) for Actress in a Supporting Role, and Virgil Williams and Dee Rees for Mudbound in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.