By Aaliyah Butler
On Tuesday, February 8, students from the Howard University Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, alongside Dean Phylicia Rashad, announced the nominees for best actor for the 94th Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This announcement was broadcasted to millions of viewers live on ABC’s Good Morning America and YouTube.
The annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, will honor the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on March 27, 2022. This year’s Oscars theme is “Movie Lovers Unite” and includes a wider spectrum of “everyday people” from across the country, such as health care workers, first responders and students.
Award winning filmmaker Will Packer is the producer of the 94th Academy Awards. Packer approached the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts to have Howard students participate in announcing nominees in the category that Chadwick A. Boseman was nominated for last year. He wanted it at the University where Boseman graduated, inside of the Ira Aldridge Theater where he trained, and the college that now bears his name.
“This was a special moment for us to recognize all of the amazing contributions that Chadwick continues to offer our students even though he is no longer with us,” said Denise Saunders Thompson, dean of administration for the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. “I was fortunate enough to serve as one of his professors when he attended HU.”
On Monday, when Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts dean Phylicia Rashad revealed to the students that they would be participating in the announcements, she spoke with them about Boseman’s love and passion for the arts. She cited his work as a consummate pursuer of information and knowledge to inform his path forward, while as a student at Howard and in his career.
“It was a full circle moment for students to understand the sacrifices and choices that Chadwick made resulting in the re-establishment of the college,” said Rashad. “There is so much more to come from our students, and we hope they remain inspired and motivated about their craft.”
