| The Oscars are tonight, and this year’s acting nominees are historic. An unprecedented four performers of Asian descent are nominated in acting categories, with Michelle Yeoh the first woman who identifies as Asian to be nominated for Best Actress. At the same time, the ceremony will feature only two Black acting nominees, a number that has critics proclaiming, once again, #OscarsSoWhite, and expressing outrage over the snubs of Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler, who gave powerhouse performances, respectively, in “The Woman King” and “Till.” In 2005, the New Yorker staff writer Hilton Als wrote about Hattie McDaniel—who, in 1940, became the first Black actor ever to be nominated for and win an Academy Award. Born to former slaves in Kansas, McDaniel was named Best Supporting Actress for her role as another slave, Mammy in “Gone with the Wind,” and would remain the only Black woman to win an Oscar for the next half century. While McDaniel did much to burst barriers, she also left behind a complicated legacy. Als guides the reader through McDaniel’s struggle to break through, and her battle to find substantive roles afterward. McDaniel’s willingness to play characters who adhered to the domestic “Mammy” stereotype helped her get work and endeared her to white-dominated Hollywood, but it also alienated her from the Black community. “She upheld the industry’s values and put on a good clean show . . . becoming a near-parody of complacency and sweet agreeableness,” Als writes. The piece offers important context surrounding McDaniel’s personal and career choices, illuminating the life of a woman who maneuvered her way through a racist industry and culture. McDaniel’s story reminds us of Hollywood’s troubling past, and of how much progress there is still to be made. | 
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