Michael K. Williams (AP Photos)

By Jessica Dortch
AFRO News Editor

The much-anticipated 73rd annual Emmy Awards was held Sept. 19. The night was hosted by Cedric The Entertainer and filled with fun and fashion, but when the thrill was gone some viewers noticed that only one person of color actually took home an award. 

Although many Blacks were nominated, it was UK actress and writer Michaela Coel who won for Best Writing for a Limited Series for the gripping drama she wrote and starred in called “I May Destroy You.” 

ABC news contributor Mike Muse appeared on ABC News Live on Sept. 20 to recap the awards. The talk show host said his theory on the lack of representation at the Emmys is that many voting members “just aren’t watching the shows because they aren’t the most popular,” but now he is unsure. “I do know that something needs to change. I think there needs to be more of a heavy push to ensure that the voting members are actually watching these shows and seeing them for what they’re worth. And, I’m not taking away from anyone who won, but I also think that there’s just a hesitation where people just haven’t seen these shows.” 

Shows like Lovecraft Country, Pose and Bridgerton were very popular among Black viewers this past year, and were admired for their complexity, originality and “realness.” All of these shows were nominated in several categories and fell short in all of them. 

MJ Rodriguez (AP Photos)

Black Twitter never misses a thing and immediately expressed their thoughts on the social media site using the infamous hashtag “#EmmysSoWhite.” 

One user wrote “Black host, Black announcer hell even Black music. We doing everything but win. #EmmysSoWhite #Emmys.”

Fans of the late Michael K. Williams, were also very disappointed when he did not receive an award for his role in Lovecraft Country. One Twitter user wrote “Michael K. Williams should have won an emmy tonight #Emmys #EmmysSoWhite.”

Another Twitter user thinks that the race wasn’t a factor at all. “#EmmysSoWhite – you mean they actually judged the winners on talent rather than skin pigmentation? The absolute horror.”

But the truth is that year after year Black creatives get dolled up for Emmy night just to walk the red carpet, sit down and cheer for everyone else. There needs to be more diversity and accountability among the Emmys voting members because Black creatives deserve more than an invitation to Emmy night.

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