Year of Firsts in Black Entertainment
2017 showed why black people are coming for all the awards, titles and accolades, don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
For a black person, 2017 by far wasn’t the kindest year. It was the last year the nation would see one of the most beloved presidents in our time leave the White House and Agent Orange entering with an entire of wave of political mediocrity and unorganization. Each news headline that would show up would be yet another painful sigh showing us the true reality of where our country is going.
However, amongst the country’s start to another lousy era, black people seem to still flourish, churning our pain and struggle into motivation to succeed. From entertainment to sports, our community has been tested rigorously through hatred, yet that didn’t stop many of us from continuing our reign of #BlackExcellence. And with the incredible number of achievements our community has had this year, that’s not stopping us from bringing diversity into many forms of society.
Here is a breakdown of the many firsts in black entertainment in 2017.
Girls Trip Makes Bank
Out of all of the movies to release in the summer, no one knew how successful this Malcolm D. Lee would be. Projections were made that Girls Trip would rake in around $30 million in its debut week, but then they were broken and then some. The film was critically acclaimed in the weeks it was in theaters across the country, became the first film with a black-led cast and crew to make over $100 million in the process, and reassured cinephiles that summer comedies can be successful when adding some blackness into the mix. This was also a breakout film for Tiffany Haddish, who made the film perfect with her raunchy portrayal, and would go on to become a huge star.
Get Out Astonishes Hollywood
With clever humor, a dynamic cast, and a plot that is a trippy mirror of our modern country, Get Out has grasped the world in a way that we didn’t know we could. Never has there been a film that not only grabs the audience’s attention, but shows their reaction as the film plays on. Jordan Peele’s creation became a culture monster, earning $100 million and a 100% Rotten Tomato score in its opening week. The remarkable milestone made the former Key & Peele star the first black director/writer to do so, and became yet another incredible acting credit for Lakeith Stanfield, Lil Rel, Daniel Kaluuya, and Allison Williams. Following Get Out’s release, the film gained traction as being a symbol of current cultural climate, sparking a conversation about race through its horrified suspense, yet also managing to maintain a large fanbase this year.
The Oscar Family
After completely messing up the Oscars in 2016, failing in 2017 in the category of Diversity was not an option for the Academy Awards. Though the live-broadcasted award show ended a little awkward with Moonlight actually winning Best Picture instead of La La Land, the night was already filled with victories that would be firsts for many. It was the first year since 2007 where multiple black actors earned at least one Oscar in the same night, with Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis winning awards for their respective roles in Moonlight and Fences.
Atlanta’s Oddness Wins All The Awards
After a critically acclaimed first season of Atlanta the prior year, 2017 would be the show’s victory lap before heading back to record its second. The FX series won numerous awards from Golden Globes to NAACP Image Awards, yet those can’t match up to the history Donald Glover made the night of the Emmys. The Atlanta creator was the first black director to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor and Directing For a Comedy. Even with all of the show’s award nominations, new areas of opportunity for the show's actors, as well as a tour Glover was on as Childish Gambino for his Grammy-nominated album, “Awaken, My Love!” — production for season two is now finished and will be airing in February 2018 (supposedly).
Jemele Hill & Michael Smith Brings Swagger To ESPN
Who would have thought that two sports anchors would become heroes in and out of the studio. When the SC6 was first announced, Hill and Smith made history as the first black anchor duo to host Sportscenter. They came so far from their days hosting the successful show His & Her, moving their confident personality and peak blackness to a bigger stage for the world to see. However, their “first” doesn’t match the amount of history both have made when those cameras were turned off after their hour of coverage. 2017 was a year that would put both anchors to the test. Hill faced suspension after voicing her opinion about the Trump Administration and owners of the NFL, yet with a strong co-anchor, family and fan base to support her, she became one of the most progressive figures in 2017.
The Year of The Black Politician
This year has been a year for black women in politics. Trump’s administration continues to disrupt the climate in Washington, but when you have people like California Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Senator Kamala Harris going viral for their back and forths with our idiotic heads-of-state, you can’t get the feeling but to root for them, unless you’re a lame. This has also been a great year for black female mayors in our country. Among the seven cities that elected their first black mayor, there were others that were either huge victories or firsts. Keisha Lance Bottoms is now the mayor of Atlanta after winning earlier this month, and Vi Lyles was elected as Charlotte’s first black female mayor. Black women are trying to save the world, whether its voting or through the actual political system.
Cardi B Attacks Billboard With Money Moves
This Bronx-based rapper is a national treasure and in only one year, Cardi B has become a big name in rap. Her time on the reality show, Love & Hip Hop, put her in the forefront of everyone’s radar, but “Bodak Yellow” truly showed you that she’s here to stay, and if you don’t think the viral videos of crowds jamming to the hit doesn’t believe in Cardi B’s power, then those Billboard numbers will. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Cardi the first female rapper to do so in 19 years and the first of Dominican descent ever. She also made the Hot 100 after teaming up with G-Eazy, and A$AP Rocky for “No Limit”.
The Grammys Are Diverse For The First Time
Although the Grammys find some way to let us down each year, the nominations this year somehow seem to show that they’re hopefully more about diversity. For example, there are no white men nominated for Album Of The Year (that’s not a shot, but let’s call it out), Cardi B and Lil Uzi Vert are nominated for Grammys, and Jay-Z leads other artists with eight nominations in total. This year is full of competition from a plethora of artists, and it shows a step towards the right direction for the awards show. Let’s see what happens when the awards are given out in February though.
Master Kendrick Lamar Makes History With DAMN.
This year, Kendrick Lamar has once again solidified that he’s one of the best in the game with his album DAMN. There’s so much you could say about it: Its production brought the best out of producers like MikeWillMadeIt, Sounwave and 9th Wonder; the soul of its musical content is basked in both his life and the climate that surrounds him, and he continues to destroy many of these beautiful instruments with his lethal lyrics. DAMN. earned Kendrick Lamar his first #1 hit song on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist, Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Album of the Year, and the album itself went double platinum.
Oprah Winfrey Awarded The Cecil B. Demille Award
For decades of of her life dedicated working in both the frontlines and corporate rooms, Oprah Winfrey’s name is elite in entertainment and media. Recently, the Golden Globes are continuing to break boundaries to award diverse communities. With that said, the actress, CEO, and executive producer for countless programs will be receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which has been given to many modern culture shifters including Al Pacino, Alfred Hitchcock, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. Oprah’s honoring will make her the first black woman to receive the honor.
Ava DuVernay Gets Hollywood To Blow Its Budget On Her
For these last few years, Ava's name has been dominating the world of entertainment thanks to films like Selma and the popular television show Queen Sugar, and she’s already been known for truly bringing a new perspective to the washed world of film. However, this year has brought her the new challenge of directing A Wrinkle In Time, a film based on the 1962 novel of the same name. The announcement was originally made at the end of summer in 2016, yet the $100 million budget for the film made Duvernay the first black woman to direct with such a massive budget. Duvernay has shown brief clips of production throughout the year, even an Instagram story indicating that the film is wrapping up.
Ibtihaj Muhammad Changes How Black Girls Play With Barbie
To actually see this young fencer in competition during the 2016 Olympics was pretty wavy, she won a bronze for U.S.A. and was the first African American woman to compete in a hijab. Ibtihaj Muhammad’s courage in the sport of fencing will also influence the next generation of young girls in many ways. Mattel made an announcement last month that she would be featured in a “Shero” line of Barbie dolls, which means Barbie will wear a hijab for the first time in the franchise’s storied history. Let’s not forget that she was rocking Nike’s first hijab while practicing in the summer.
Lena Waithe Broke The Internet With Her Emmy Win
Along with Atlanta’s emergence at the Emmys, this Master of None actress was the first black woman to win a golden statuette for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series. Waithe portrays Denise on the show, yet her screenwriting with creator Aziz Ansari took home the grand prize for the episode “Thanksgiving,” an episode that was based on her own personal experience with coming out.
Serena Williams' Grand Slam Win While Pregnant Is Legendary
If her years dominating the sport hasn’t given you any clue yet, then this year should indicate that Serena Williams is the greatest athletes of our generation. When news first broke that she won the Australian Open in January, you could assure that this victory was yet another trophy added to her 71 Singles titles. However, the tennis star surprised everyone by "accidentally" posting a photo of her baby bump on Snapchat with the text "20 Weeks"
Many were caught off by the announcement alone, but quick realization alluded to the idea that Williams must have been pregnant while she was competing, and we were right. This surprising moment made Williams the first black tennis athlete to win a Grand Slam while being pregnant, and after a year dedicated to the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., there’s some rumors that she may make a return next year. This would be yet another achievement by one of the greatest tennis athletes, and we would have never known if she wouldn’t have added the photo to “My Story”.
Tiffany Haddish Makes Saturday Night Live History Look Cool AF
This experienced comedian and actress has a stacked number of appearances on different shows and films since the 2000’s. But with outstanding roles in films like Keanu and Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish has shined in 2017 through several appearances in media, even making history by being on Saturday Night Live. She hosted the show in November and became the first black woman stand-up comedian to host the show.
Edward Enninful Brings Beautiful Blackness To British Vogue
Ever since his early years as a teenager, Edward Enninful has been a recognizable name in fashion editorial from his earlier years as a model to his work at i-D and W Magazine. This year, the Ghanaian-born editor was the first black man to earn the position as editor-in-chief at British Vogue. At a time where Brexit represents the culture climate in the UK, Ennifuls' first cover as EIC has already drew acclaim for making political statements through editorial coverage of fashion and culture.
Nigeria's Women Bobsled Team Qualifies For Olympics
Make all the Cool Running jokes you want, these ladies are heading to the Olympics and breaking diversity boundaries in by being the first African bobsledding team to qualify for the event. The three teammates, Ngozi Onwumere, Seun Adigun, and Akuoma Omeoga, were originally sprinters based in the U.S. Adigun was a sprinter in the 2012 games, yet started bobsledding after a brief moment of absence from sports. She recruited Onwumere and Omeoga, who were also sprinters. After building a bobsled themselves and practicing for nearly a year, they qualified for the Winter Olympics. The Nigerian Women’s Bobsledding team will be competing next year in Pyeongchang, South Korea. However, there’s going to be more #BlackGirlMagic happening to keep them company.
Maame Biney Makes Speed Skating Cool Again
At the young age of 17, Maame Biney is making history as Olympic athlete in this country as well. The Virginia competitor has qualified for the 2018 Olympics, which will take place in South Korea, and will be forever-and-always known as the first black woman to compete for Team USA in Speed Skating. From many sources, it would be bad to get her young age mistaken with her talent. She finished her 500 trial beating out veteran Olympians who competed before.