Sunday night’s 2020 Emmys were record-breaking for Black performers. The Television Academy gave seven wins to Black actors. The previous record was in 2018 when six Black actors took home Emmy Awards.
During the award ceremony, several actors took the opportunity to use the popular broadcast to raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement. There might not have been a typical red carpet moment during the virtual ceremony, but that didn’t stop the celebrities from wearing their finest looks and most importantly, making a statement about their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Regina King wore a sleek fuchsia blazer over with a T-shirt with Breonna Taylor’s face and name. King won an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Limited Series for her role in HBO’s Watchmen. In the virtual press room, she told reporters that Taylor represents “decades, hundreds of years of just, violence against black bodies.”
The creator of Watchmen, Damon Lindelof, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series while wearing a shirt inscripted with “Remember Tulsa ’21” which refers to the Tulsa Race Massacre. “We dedicate this award to the victims and survivors of the Tulsa massacre of 1921,” Lindelof said. “The fires that destroyed Black Wall Street still burn today. The only way to put the fires out is if we all fight them together.”
Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba also wore a short to honor Breonna Taylor. Her simple black T-shirt features Taylor’s name. Aduba won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Emmy Award for her turn as Shirley Chisholm in Hulu’s Mrs. America.
Underneath a black suit jacket, Sterling K. Brown wore a graphic T-shirt that featured a raised fist and the letters “BLM.” Emmy-nominee Yvonne Orji made a bold statement by wearing the raised fist symbol shaved into her hair—the perfect addition to her glamorous crimson gown. Anthony Anderson shared some powerful words during his speech, when presenting alongside Jimmy Kimmel, saying, “I’m still rooting for everybody Black, because Black stories, Black performance and Black lives matter.”