Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, and Cate Blanchett  all have received either a statue for Best Actor or Best Actress. Other than having a phenomenal talent to shine under the spotlight they all share one common feature: their skin color.

For the second year in a row, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominations has failed to recognize minority actors and actress. Once this year’s nominations were announced, the #OscarsSoWhite was trending across the country for a second time.

The hashtag went viral last year when not a single person of color was nominated in both leading and supporting categories. The Oscars being “so white” isn’t news to anybody–this has been happening for years. In Oscars history, only 31 black men and women have taken home the statue, compared to 155 white counterparts who have won.

The first Oscars took place in 1929; it wasn’t not until 1940 that Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to earn an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

At the NAACP Image Awards on February 5th, Anthony Anderson, star of Black-ish, did not shy away from the Oscars controversy.  After poking fun at Stacey Dash, who wishes Black History Month and the NAACP Image Awards would be abolished, he said, “Although we have our own award show, I just want the other ones to be fair.  I just hope they don’t go overboard next year and nominate too much black stuff out of guilt.”

“I think it’s infuriating, and the Academy should do something about it. It’s very apparent that they are made up of racists,” said AVHS sophomore Hanna Clark.

After the nominations were announced, Jada Pinkett Smith and WIll Smith called out for actors and actresses of color to boycott the award show.

“I think that’s necessary, but I’m also hoping that the Academy understands that it’s not just about having more black voters … to give the connotation that black people vote black,”  Jada Pinkett Smith stated to a TMZ reporter. “The Academy as a whole, we all need to, as human beings, get to know each other, expand our education about everyone.”

Will Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination for his acting as Dr. Bennet Omalu in Concussion, but didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

An interesting point is that Straight Outta Compton, which is written by two white screenwriters, is up for Best Original Screenplay. However, none of the actors were nominated for their performances.

In a similar situation,  Sylvester Stallone received a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role in the Creed. However, the Academy overlooked the performances of Michael B. Jordan, who played the title character in the movie. The same goes for the black director Ryan Coogler for his writing of the script and directing of the movie.

It is said the Oscars does not reflect the diversity of the United States. People of color  have made up a huge part of Hollywood since the civil rights movement. Besides African Americans, other minorities haven’t done so well either: no Asian actresses have won an Oscar in 58 years, and it’s been 54 years since a Latina took home an Academy Award

Chris Rock is this year’s host of the 88th Academy Awards, which is fortunate. If it was any other white comedian, it would be impossible for the Academy Awards to dodge the #OscarsSoWhite reference.

“I have watched the Oscars over the last couple years, and I have noticed a change but I didn’t come to the realization. That the Oscars didn’t  recognize minorities until it was trending on Twitter” sophomore Hamdi Abas said. “I am not sure if I am going to watch the Oscars this year.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences pledges to make the voting members more diverse by doubling the number of female and minority member by 2020. They are making an effort to change the image of the voting process and members. Hopefully, this plan that the Academy brought forth creates a new beginning where minorities are more prevalent in the Academy nomination.

“The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”

However, if all goes as planned  the Academy will come out stronger, and they will tackle institutionalized racism in Hollywood and beyond. As the nation continues to grow, so does the Academy and it has a lot of catching up to do. In order for the Oscars to continue being the goal of many talented people, they need to prove that they would accept different types of people. The Oscars must continue to grow and mold into something that welcomes and recognizes people from all walks of life.