4 Surprising Facts About Black Entertainment and Pop Culture in America

The entertainment industry in the United States has been white-centric since its inception. Black entertainment news is only a recent phenomenon; for much of the country’s history, its Black population was shunned and cast aside, especially when it came to things like entertainment. Black entertainment news is now readily available, but the industry still isn’t exactly where it needs to be when it comes to perfect equality.

Today in entertainment, most mainstream media outlets are still primarily white centric, though things have slowly gotten better, especially over the past few years. Though steps have been taken, it’s not enough! Black entertainment news needs to stop being represented as a small niche, when in fact it’s a substantial segment of the population. More than just a small segment of the population cares about current celebrity news!

All that being said, it’s time to celebrate some of the highlights of modern Black pop culture. Here are 4 facts you will hopefully find interesting.

1. Ultimate Power Couple

With their combined net worth topping out at over a billion dollars, it’s impossible to dispute that Beyonce and Jay-Z are one of the most influential couples in American popular culture today. Jay-Z currently holds the record for most albums debuting at #1, beating out the King himself, Elvis Presley. With their hands in music, fashion and more, it’s unlikely that Queen Bey and King Jay will be unseated any time soon.

2. Only 4 Black Men Have Won Best Actor at the Oscars

Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker are the only Black men to have won the prestigious acting award over the course of nearly 100 years. It’s currently been 11 years since a Black actor has won.


3. Only 1 Black Woman Has Ever Won Best Actress at the Oscars

Even worse than their track record with Black men is that of Black women. Halle Berry was the only Black woman to have won a Best Actress award so far in the show’s history. Can someone please explain to me how Viola Davis has not yet won that award?

4. Tyra Banks Broke Barriers

Throughout the 90s, Tyra became the first Black woman to appear on the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalogue, Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition and GQ magazine. It is unbelievable it took that long, but Tyra did great work and deserves recognition for breaking down these strong barriers.

Do you have anything other facts to share about Black entertainment news or pop culture? Join in on the conversation by commenting below!

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