Urban Soul Farmer

wocinsolidarity:

CHERYL BOONE ISAACS BECOMES THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES (and first woman in 30 years!)

The election of Isaacs comes at a time when the academy is interested in addressing diversity. A 2012 Los Angeles Times survey found that the organization’s membership of about 5,800 was overwhelmingly white, male and older.

Though outgoing President Hawk Koch and academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson have made strides to increase the diversity within the organization — eliminating the quota system for electing members, bringing in additional women to the board — the group is still predominantly male and white.

Last month the academy extended invitations to 276 people to join its ranks, many of them women and minorities [POC], including actress Jennifer Lopez, director Catherine Hardwicke, actor Danny Trejo and newly appointed Warner Bros. Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara.

The addition of Isaacs to the top post means the academy will now be run by two women, including Hudson. Those close to Isaacs expect her to treat the unpaid job as a full-time position.