Introduction     ix
1939 Hattie McDaniel, Gone with the Wind     1
1946 James Baskett, Song of the South     5
1949 Ethel Waters, Pinky     7
1954 Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones     9
1958 Sidney Poitier, The Defiant Ones     11
1959 Juanita Moore, Imitation of Life     13
1963 Sidney Poitier, Lilies of the Field     16
1967 Beah Richards, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner     19
1969 Rupert Crosse, The Reivers     21
1970 James Earl Jones, The Great White Hope     23
1972 Diana Ross, Lady Sings the Blues     25
1972 Cicely Tyson, Sounder     27
1972 Paul Winfield, Sounder     29
1974 Diahann Carroll, Claudine     31
1981 Howard E. Rollins Jr., Ragtime     33
1982 Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman     35
1983 Alfre Woodard, Cross Creek     37
1984 Adolph Caesar, A Soldier's Story     39
1985 Margaret Avery, The Color Purple     41
1985 Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple     43
1985 Oprah Winfrey, The Color Purple     45
1986 Dexter Gordon, 'Round Midnight     47
1987 Morgan Freeman, Street Smart     49
1987 Denzel Washington,Cry Freedom     51
1989 Morgan Freeman, Driving Miss Daisy     53
1989 Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing     55
1989 Denzel Washington, Glory     58
1990 Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost     61
1991 John Singleton, Boyz N the Hood     63
1992 Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game     66
1992 Denzel Washington, Malcolm X     68
1993 Angela Bassett, What's Love Got to Do with It?     71
1993 Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do with It?     73
1994 Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption     75
1994 Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction     77
1996 Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire     80
1996 Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets & Lies     83
1997 Spike Lee, 4 Little Girls     86
1999 Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile     88
1999 Denzel Washington, The Hurricane     91
2001 Halle Berry, Monster's Ball     94
2001 Will Smith, Ali     97
2001 Denzel Washington, Training Day     99
2002 Queen Latifah, Chicago     101
2003 Djimon Hounsou, In America     102
2004 Jamie Foxx, Collateral     104
2004 Jamie Foxx, Ray     106
2004 Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby      108
2005 Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda     111
2005 Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow     114
2005 Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda     116
2006 Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond     117
2006 Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls     119
2006 Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls     122
2006 Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness     125
2006 Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland     128
Filmographies     131
African American Oscar Nominees (Non-Acting/Directing/Writing)     165
Overlooked Worthy Performances by African American Actors     167
African American Performers of Nominated Songs at Oscar Ceremonies, A Select List     169
Bibliography     173
Index     177
About the Author     191