A record number of Black actors snagged acting trophies for the 72nd Primetime Emmys, with seven taking home statues. That broke the record of six set two years ago.
On Saturday Maya Rudolph, Eddie Murphy and Ron Cephas Jones took home guest starring acting Emmys.
Another Black actor, Laurence Fishburne, also won a short-form acting statue for #FreeRayshawn.
Their wins in those smaller categories, along with RuPaul scoring his fifth trophy for outstanding host for a reality or competition program as well as Reginald Hudlin serving as the awards show’s first Black producer, marked the 2020 Emmys as being one of the most diverse in its history.
In a year that has seen protests and a racial reckoning in this country, 33% of the nominees in the Emmy acting categories were Black, compared to 14% the five years prior.
Zendaya, 24, became the youngest to win outstanding lead actress in a drama for her role as a troubled teen in “Euphoria,” breaking the record set by Jodie Comer who won last year for “Killing Eve” when she was 26.