Amid rampant criticism of the lack of inclusion concerning the Oscar nominations over the last couple of years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the addition of several “diverse voices” to its leadership, specifically the Board of Governors, and several prominent Board committees.
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a Black woman, released a statement just days before this year’s Oscar ceremony expressing her disappointment with the Academy’s role in the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, vowing to make sure that her organization makes it a point to address these concerns in the future. Per a press release, the Academy has added former President of Entertainment at BET Reginald Hudlin, a Black man, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the South Korean-born director behind Kung Fu Panda 2, and Gregory Nava, a Caucasian film director and screenplay writer to its Board of Governors, a deliberate step in the direction of added diversity.
In addition to her will to make sure that new additions to the Boards are active members in the motion picture industry, Isaacs reiterated that she knows there is “more to do as we move forward to make this a more inclusive organization.”
