Robbed: Juanita Moore
Best Supporting Actress in 1959
Remember how Miss Lora (Lana Turner) cried over Annie’s (Juanita Moore) death bed? And how Mahalia Jackson sang “Trouble of the World” at her funeral?
Winner: Shelley Winters, The Diary of Anne Frank
Robbed: The Color Purple
Best Supporting Actress in 1985, Whoopi Goldberg
“I'm poor, black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here.”
Winner: Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful
Best Supporting Actress in 1985, Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey
It’s a toss-up here. Shug or Miss Sofia?
Winner: Angelica Huston, Prizzi’s Honor
Robbed: Morgan Freeman
Best Actor in 1989
Daisy: What are you doing?
Hoke: I’m tryin’ to drive you to the sto’.
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot
Robbed: Do the Right Thing
Best Original Screenplay in 1989
Buggin’ Out: “Hey, Sal, how come they ain't no brothas on the wall?”
Winner: Tom Schulman, Dead Poets Society
Robbed: John Singleton
Best Director in 1991
Boyz in the Hood
Winner: Jonathan Demme, Silence of the Lambs
Late Bloomer
Best Actor in 1992
Denzel Washington, Malcolm X
Yes, Denzel finally got his due in 2006. But, it shouldn't have taken that long.
Winner: Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman
Robbed: What's Love Got to Do With It?
Best Actor and Actress in 1993
Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett
“My husband and I just had a fight. I'm supposed to open at the Academy tonight. I have 36 cents and a Mobil card, and if you just give me a room, I swear I will pay you back.”
Winner: Tom Hanks in Philadelphia
Winner: Holly Hunter in The Piano
Third Time's a Charm?
Best Actor in 2001 and 2006
Will Smith has been nominated twice for Best Actor—Ali (2001) and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Both times he lost out to another black actor. Sorry, Will!
2001 Winner: Denzel Washington, Training Day
2006 Winner: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Toss-Up!
Best Actor in 2004
Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
Winner: Jamie Foxx, Ray
Robbed: Sophie Okonedo
Best Actress in 2004
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is one of those hard-to-watch movies. But, Okonedo loses herself in this role and falls into the character.
Winner: Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Toss-Up: Viola or Taraji?
Best Supporting Actress in 2008
Viola Davis in Doubt
or
Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Winner: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Root's Honorary Oscar
Best Supporting Actor in 2006
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Only because this is the funniest we've seen Eddie Murphy in years!
Winner: Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine