Hattie Mcdaniel, born in 1893 was the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940. Her Oscar which she gave away in her last will and testament in 1951 to Howard University has been missing since the civil rights protests of the ’60s and is yet to be found. She is an important figure and someone who should be remembered for black history month. I think she is an amazing woman, who was able to achieve so much in such a difficult time for her and all black people. She deserves to be remembered every day.
Hattie McDaniel started her career as a performer. She was a singer and dancer on stage for her older brothers Sam’s traveling comedy troupe. She then moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a maid or cook whilst working on her career in film and radio to make ends meet.
She had an extensive radio career as a singer and comedian. She was invited to perform on Denver KOA radio station and continued to work for the vaudeville circuit (Popular entertainment that consisted of 10-15 unrelated acts featuring magicians, acrobats, comedians, etc.). She established herself as a blues musician and wrote her own work.
In 1931 she was able to land her first role as an extra in a musical. In 1932 she got her first movie role as a housekeeper in the movie “The Golden West”. Her role as Mom Beck in “The Little Colonel” attracted many Hollywood directors and it gave her a steady stream of offers.
In 1939, She acted the iconic role of Mammy in the famous movie Gone with The Wind. The movie itself won 10 Oscars and was titled as the fourth greatest American film of all time by AFI. It's this movie that Hattie McDonald was able to take the Oscar for ‘best-supporting actress’ and make history. Despite the fact that she won, She was segregated from all of her other actors during the ceremony and was barred at the premiere of the film due to the ‘No blacks policy ‘of the theatre in 1939.
There was criticism regarding Hattie’s success and roles. Black media often attacked her for acting in parts that often-perpetuated negative stereotypes. Her roles were almost always maids and housekeepers. Walter White, Then Leader of NACCP (The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) asked African American actors to stop accepting such rules she thought it degraded their culture. McDonald famously answered these criticisms by saying: “I'd rather make $700 a week playing a maid than earn $7 a day being a maid”
Hattie McDaniel is a woman that went through hardships and discrimination in the industry to make sure other Black people should never have to. She is an inspiration to all People in the entertainment industry and proof that hard work and talent shines.
