Ruth E. Carter Becomes 1st Black Woman To Win 2 Oscars

Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty

Award shows are always great ways to showcase diverse talent, but they also show how restrictive the entertainment world can be.

That fact was once again true last night at the Oscars when Ruth E. Carter took home the award for costume design for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Not only was it a surprising win, but it also made history with Carter being the first Black woman to win two Oscars. After all, she won the award for the first Black Panther film in 2018 as well.

With the history-making award in her hand, Carter took to the stage with a heartwarming speech. She thanked the movie’s director Ryan Coogler and kindly asked for the movie’s late protagonist Chadwick Boseman to protect her mother, Mabel Carter, who died last week at 101.

“Nice to see you again. Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endure, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week, Mable Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment,” she said during her speech.

“Chadwick, please take care of Mom. Ryan Coogler, Nate Moore, thank you both for your vision. Together, we are reshaping how culture is represented. The Marvel family, Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito and their arsenal of genius, thank you. I share this with many dedicated artists whose hands and hearts helped manifest the costumes of Wakanda and Talokan. This is for my mother. She was 101.”

Ruth E. Carter was up against some heavy hitters in the costume design category, like Catherine Martin for her work on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Mary Zophres for Babylon, Jenny Beaven for Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Shirley Kurata for Everything Everywhere All at Once, which was an Oscars favorite.

See how Twitter reacted to a Black woman making history below.

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