This past Sunday, the Emmy Awards acknowledged and celebrated outstanding television performances. Of the top one hundred acting nominations, only two Latinos were nominated and only one took home an award.
The numbers below tell the story of the top 100 acting nominations and wins:
White: 74 nominees/ 11 wins
African American: 20 nominees/ 3 wins
Asian: 4 nominees/ 1 win
Latino: 2 nominees/ 1 win
Said Alex Nogales, CEO and President of the National Hispanic Media Coalition:
“Latinos were once again absent from the Emmys despite being 18 percent of the U.S. population and an extremely loyal entertainment audience with a purchasing power of 1.5 trillion dollars a year. Let us be clear, the Emmys are prestigious awards and–by being denied roles and left out of awards contention–Latinos are denied even more opportunities throughout their career because of this lack of inclusion and recognition.
“TV networks have barely moved the needle on Latino acting numbers, if at all, in the last decade. We, along with American Indians and Asian Americans, are consistently underrepresented on the screen and this has a harmful effect on our communities. TV networks and streaming services must commit to increasing diversity and inclusion of people of color in casting, writing, producing and directing by exploring new strategies and creating impactful pipeline programs.
“The National Latino Media Council, of which NHMC is Secretariat, signed Memorandums of Understanding with ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX on diversity nearly two decades ago and we demand to see progress on that promise. Greater inclusion of people of color in front of and back of camera, particularly Latinos, hasn’t caught up to reflect the character of the country and NLMC will continue to meet with executives and aggressively hold them accountable. Where they fall short, we will raise our voices in solidarity to ensure that their brands are connected to their shameless exclusion of our voices and that they face the financial consequences of those decisions.”
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet.
