Lena Waithe, Donald Glover Make History at the Emmys

It was a night of firsts for black comedians at last night’s Emmy Awards held in Los Angeles.

 

Donald Glover from “Atlanta” became the first black person to win for directing a comedy series, while Lena Waithe from “Master of None” became the first black woman to win for comedy writing in the history of the Emmy Award.  The Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, recognises excellence in the television industry and corresponds to the Oscar (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Award (for music).

 

Waithe won for co-writing the “Thanksgiving” episode of “Master of None” with series co-creator and star, Aziz Ansari. Waithe has also had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy. The episode was based on her experience of coming out as a lesbian, according to Variety. Full of emotion, Waithe called out the importance of diversity in entertainment and the culture at large in accepting the award. “The things that make us different — those are our superpowers,” she said.

She also made special mention of her “LGBTQIA family” and urged viewers who feel outside of the mainstream to don a superhero cape every day “And go out there and conquer the world. It would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.”

 

 

 

Glover not only made history for winning in comedy series directing for the “B.A.N.” episode of “Atlanta,” he also walked away with the comedy lead actor trophy for his role on the show. During his acceptance speech, Glover poked fun at the US president, Donald Trump. “I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most-oppressed list,” he said. “He’s probably the reason I’m up here.”

 

Another first at last night was Hulu, which became the first streaming service to win best drama gold for “The Handmaid’s Tale.” “Big Little Lies,” “SNL,” and “Veep” also among the winners for the night.

 

 

 

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