Night of Firsts: Black Hollywood Makes History At the 2017 Emmys

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The 69^th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards was a night full of firsts, specifically for black Hollywood. During the star-studded event, three black actors took the spotlight and made history in the process.

Actor and creator of FX’s hit show Atlanta, Donald Glover became the first black person to win Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series when he accepted the Emmy for the sixth episode of the show’s inaugural season, “B.A.N.” Glover made his directorial debut with that episode, before directing the seventh episode of the season as well. “This really belongs to Hiro Murai,” Glover said during his acceptance speech, referencing the series’ main director. “He taught me everything about directing. He had the eye for this show and he’s just amazing. I really want to give this to Hiro and just say, ‘I love you and thank you for being my best friend.'”

Glover also took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Earn on the show. The last black actor who received the Emmy for the category was Robert Guillaume for his work in the 1985 television series Benson. Glover, who also recently announced he’d be retiring his rap alter ego Childish Gambino, joked about Donald Trump during his speech.

“I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the Most Oppressed list,” he said. “He’s probably the reason I’m up here.”

The second season of Atlanta has reportedly begun filming for the forthcoming season. However, the long-awaited series won’t return to small screens until 2018.

Master of None star and co-creator Lena Waithe made history when she took home an Emmy for co-writing the “Thanksgiving” episode for Netflix’s hit series – making her the first African American woman to win for comedy writing. The episode, which stars Angela Basset, tells the story of a young black lesbian (Waithe) who struggles with her sexuality and her mother (Basset) who has trouble accepting her daughter’s sexuality. During her speech, Waithe drew many emotions from the crowd as she thanks the LGBTQIA community and thanked her mother for inspiring the episode.

Along with Waithe and Glover, Sterling K. Brown took the spotlight after he received the award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. The acclaimed actor was the first black actor to receive this award in nearly 20 years. The last to receive the award was Andre Braugher, who won for his role in the 1998 series Homicide: Life on the Street.

Brown received a standing ovation during his acceptance speech, as he thanked his wife and the cast of the show, This Is Us. After receiving the historic win, Brown was cut off during his acceptance speech by the awards show, sparking a social media outrage. In light of the historic event, Brown was able to finish his speech backstage as he continued to thank those who aided in his success.

Be sure to check out the full list of winners below.

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