Go ahead and get #Emmysnotsowhite trending.
This year’s Emmy nominations were announced Thursday morning and the general consensus seems to be the Television Academy got it right.
18 out of 73 acting nominations went to people of color which translates to slightly less than 25 percent of the nominees.
Nods for actors including “Master of None” star/creator Aziz Ansari, Courtney B. Vance and Cuba Gooding Jr. from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and “Black-ish” stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross helped get the Emmys there.
And despite the fact that there was not a wide range of diversity, with nominees skewing more towards African Americans than Asians and Latinos, it was a welcome change from the #OscarsSoWhite conversation which has consistently pointed out the lack of opportunities — and acclaim — for actors of color in Hollywood.
Thursdays nominations were greeted with praise from fans. One person tweeted “Nice to see some diversity in the nominations #Emmys – Oscars can learn a few things.”
The television industry has recently proven to be more fertile ground for growing — and acknowledging — diversity than the movies.
Last year Viola Davis became the first African American woman to be named outstanding actress in a drama for her role in ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder,” and Jeffrey Tambor became the first to win a lead-actor Emmy for playing a transgender character, in Amazon’s “Transparent.”
Davis noted the historic moment during her acceptance speech.
“Let me tell you something, the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” she said, as fellow nominee “Empire” actress Taraji P. Henson stood and applauded. “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
Prior to Davis’ win “Scandal” star Kerry Washington created buzz in 2013 when she became the first black actress to be nominated in that category in two decades.