The 91st annual Academy Awards kicked off with melanin’ poppin’ red carpet at the Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood, California (Feb. 24).
Among the celebrities of color to make their way down the camera lenses and flashing lights was Pose actor Billy Porter, who confidently strutted a black velvet tuxedo dress, a “custom couture masterpiece” designed by Christian Siriano (by the way, Porter paid homage to ballroom icon, Hector Xtravaganza of the House of Xtravaganza). Actress, singer and The Voice judge Jennifer Hudson made a fierce reemergence as she posed in a ruffled red gown.
Love made an appearance by way of couples like author DeVon Franklin and his wife, actress Meagan Good, actors Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet, super producer Pharrell Williams and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, and Black Panther queen Angela Bassett and her oh so cool husband, actor Courtney Vance. Michael B. Jordan decided to take his darling mother as his date to the Oscars ceremony.
The 91st annual Academy Awards is a year of many firsts: Spike Lee and Jordan Peele could become the first black director to win in the Best Directing category for BlacKKKlansman. Black Panther could become the first superhero film to take home Best Picture. Mahershala Ali could become the second black actor to win Best Supporting Actor for 2 consecutive years. Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler could become the first black women to take home Best Achievement In Costume Design and Best Production Design respectively.
Catch the Oscars live tonight at 8 p.m. EST/5pm PST on ABC.
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Billy Porter
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Jenifer Lewis
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Brian Tyree
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Amandla Stenberg
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Tonya Lewis Lee and Spike Lee
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Regina King
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(L-R) Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Zinzi Evans, Ryan Coogler
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DJ M.O.S. and DJ Kiss
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Stephan James
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Laura Harrier
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Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin
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91st Annual Academy Awards – Arrivals
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Questlove
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Danny Glover
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Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh
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Yalitza Aparicio
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Barry Jenkins and Guest
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Tanika Ray
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Octavia Spencer
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David Oyelowo
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Jennifer Hudson
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Maya Rudolph
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Stephan James and Shamier Anderson
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Angela Bassett
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Hanna Beachler
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Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa
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Jordan Peele and Chelsea Peretti
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Keegan-Michael Key and Elisa Pugliese
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Samuel L. Jackson
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Shameik Moore, Stephan James and Shamier Anderson
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Trevor Noah
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Chadwick Boseman
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Jennifer Lopez
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Donna and Michael B. Jordan
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Ruth E. Carter
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Serena Williams
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Tessa Thompson
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Tyler Perry
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Queen Latifah
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Congressman John Lewis
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Mahershala Ali and Amatus Sami-Karim
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KiKi Layne and Her Mother, Sandra
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