Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality and representation resonates with the strides Black Hollywood has made in recent decades. So it’s fitting, on Martin Luther King weekend, to salute the progress made by Black artists in the industry.

The Golden Globes this year saw Viola Davis accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work (which includes a Globes supporting actress win for Fences (2016), plus another five nominations. One of the highlights of this year’s show was when an emotional Zoe Saldana took to the stage to receive her supporting female actor award for her electrifying performance in Emilia Perez. 

Multiple other actors were nominated during this year’s ceremony including Gladiator II’s Denzel Washington, Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo, The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, Jamie Foxx for his standup performance, Zendaya for her role in Challengers as well as Donald Glover for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Colman Domingo’s turn in Sing Sing, and Quinta Brunson’s performance in Abbott Elementary. At the same time, the film Nickel Boys earned a nod in the best motion picture drama category.

Viola Davis gave an inspiring speech when she was awarded the DeMille; the award puts her in the company of such talent as Sidney Poitier (1981), Morgan Freeman (2011), Denzel Washington (2015), Oprah Winfrey (2018), and Eddie Murphy (2023).

Breakout performances earning a supporting actress at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards were bestowed on Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2007) and for Lupita Nyong’o’s heart-rendering turn in 12 Years a Slave (2014). Nyong’o’s career-defining win led to other notable roles, such as the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Us, and the film Black Panther and its sequel. Mahershala Ali earned a Golden Globe nod for supporting actor for his role in Moonlight (2016). Ali followed up with Green Book (2018), which earned him a win at the Golden Globes for supporting actor. He was also nominated for Best Actor for Swan Song (2021) at the Golden Globes.

An historic win of a different kind: Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) co-wrote and directed Black Panther, which took in $1.344 billion marking it the highest-grossing film directed by a Black filmmaker. Coogler’s follow-up, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, saw him nominated as a co-writer of a song from the film, while Angela Bassett took home a supporting actress trophy at the Golden Globes. Bassett previously won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It. 

Other filmmakers include Jordan Peele, whose 2018 film Get Out was nominated for two Golden Globes, including best motion picture musical or comedy. That same year, Peele was one of the producers of Blackkklansman, a film that shed light on racial issues. Spike Lee directed and co-wrote the film, which scored four Golden Globe nominations, including best motion picture-drama, director Spike Lee,  and actors John David Washington and Adam Driver, as lead actor and supporting, respectively.

Prolific Golden Globe-winning screenwriter/producer Shonda Rhimes is best known for the hit TV series Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder, and Bridgerton; they have earned multiple Globes nominations.

Other talent behind the cameras include Barry Jenkins who earned a director nomination at the Golden Globes for Moonlight, which won for best picture drama. Jenkins also earned a screenplay nomination at the Golden Globes for If Beale Street Could Talk, which saw a supporting actress award go to Regina King.

On the small screen, Tracey Ellis Ross won a Golden Globe for Black-ish, and Issa Rae has earned four nominations for Insecure.

Other critically acclaimed heavyweights in front of and behind the camera include Chadwick Boseman, who received a Golden Globe win for Best Actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Though the Oscars haven’t yet nominated a Black woman as director, the Globes nominated Ava DuVernay almost a decade ago as director of Selma (2015).

An elite club of actors who have been awarded trophies at the Golden Globes and/or the Academy Awards include Forest Whitaker, Will Smith, Don Cheadle, Daniel Kaluuya, Regina King (who also flexed her directorial muscles and earned a Golden Globe nod for One Night in Miami), and director Steve McQueen. Other notable Hollywood heavyweights include filmmakers Tyler Perry and Antoine Fuqua, four-time Golden Globe-nominated Samuel L. Jackson, and Globes-winning Jeffrey Wright, who was also nominated in 2023 for Best Actor at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes for American Fiction.

Black music artists who have been awarded Golden Globes in the original song category include Prince (“Purple Rain”), Steve Wonder (“I Just Called To Say I Love You”), Lionel Richie (“Say You, Say Me”), John Legend and Common (“Glory”) and H.E.R (“Fight For You”). Nominated artists in this category include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey and Andra Day, who won as best actress for The United States vs Billie Holiday (2020).

Jon Batiste, who collaborated with Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch, won Best Original Score for Soul in 2021. Other nominations in this category include Quincy Jones (The Color Purple), Mervyn Warren (The Preacher’s Wife), Terrance Blanchard (Blackkklansman), and this year’s Kris Bowers (The Wild Robot).

On the subject of Martin Luther King Jr., there have been many stellar performances by actors who have taken on the challenge of playing the great visionary. These include Kelvin Harrison Jr.,  Aml Ameen, Anthony Mackie,  Malik Yoba, LeVar Burton, Nelsan Ellis, Raymond St. Jacques, Jeffrey Wright, Dexter Scott King, Clifton Powell, Robert Guillaume, Jason Bernard. Dr. King has also been played by Golden Globe-nominated actors including James Earl Jones, Courtney B. Vance, Paul Winfield, David Oyelowo, and Samuel L. Jackson.

While there’s still work to be done to achieve Dr. King’s hopes for the future, much progress has been made to honor his ideals of equality, opportunity and representation. His legacy continues to serve as a guiding light for these endeavors.

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