The Oscars are this weekend and for the first time in a decade, every actor category includes non-white nominees. Additionally, Joi McMillon, the co-editor of Moonlight is the first African-American woman ever to be nominated for film editing. Barry Jenkins is only the fourth black filmmaker nominated for Oscar Best Director and could become the first to win with Moonlight.
While this represents major progress, we still have a long way to go. Since the Awards started in 1929, only 6.7% of acting nominations have gone to “non-white actors.” This year, women make up only 20% of the nominees, with no women directors or cinematographers and only one woman writer nominated.
That’s why this week, we encourage you to join us and live tweet the 2017 Oscars to remind the Academy and the entertainment industry that we want stories that represent us all. We’ll start with the red carpet at 12:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. PT. Post questions you’d like reporters to ask instead of “What are you wearing” with #AskHerMore and tag @RepresentPledge. And then join us to keep the conversation going during the main show. Together, we can help ensure better representation for all.
Onwards,
Jennifer Siebel Newsom & The Representation Project Team
Join Our Global Youth Advisory Council
Applications for the Global Youth Advisory Council are now open! The Representation Project is looking for our next GYAC class.
This year, the Council will be made up of 20 amazing young people from the ages of 16 to 24, ready to organize their peers by facilitating a Global Youth Rep chapter on their campus or community. The deadline is March 15th. Apply now!
Sally Field, Matt McGorry, Rosario Dawson, and Others Join The Representation Project as Ambassadors
We are proud to announce that an amazing group of high-profile ambassadors has banded together to use their platforms to challenge stereotypes and promote social justice. A big thanks and welcome to:
- Laura Benanti, Tony Award-Winning Actor and Women’s Rights Advocate
- Eliza Coupe, Actor and Activist
- Rosario Dawson, Actor and Activist
- Sally Field, Actor and Activist
- Maria Teresa Kumar, Advocate and Change-Maker
- Lisa Ling, Journalist
- Matt McGorry, Actor and Activist
- Connie Nielsen, Actor and Activist
- Shaun Ross, Top Model, Actor, Activist, and Creator of #InMySkinIWin
- Taylor Schilling, Actor and Activist
- Molly Sims, Actress, Humanitarian, and Author
Representation Around the Web
“People say, ‘You’re Teen Vogue. You’re known for fashion. What the hell do you guys know about politics anyway?’ To tell a teenager that she stick to lip gloss—when she’s being directly impacted by policies affecting her lifestyle and the lifestyle of those around her – is frankly irresponsible.” – Teen Vogue’s Phillip Picardi, via The Daily Show
- ATTN: Historian Breaks Down Why Betsy DeVos Can’t Be Compared to a Civil Rights Icon
- Marie Claire: Our Laws Period-Shame Women—So I’m Going to Change Them
- NBC News: 10 Resign from President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
- TIME: President Trump’s Health Pick Says Maternity Coverage Should Be Optional
- USA Today: The Pro Bowl’s Kiss Cam Became a Powerful PSA about Love’s Different Forms
- The Washington Post: Photographer Combats Gender Stereotypes with the Idea that “Boys Can, Too”
“Excerpt from Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again” #BHM
Image via The Representation Project’s Instagram
