--- title: How Hard the Oscars Worked Combat #OscarsSoWhite description: At the 88th Academy Awards, the Academy made a major effort to counter the image of #oscarssowhite with a more diverse group of presenters. canonical: https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-29T22:12:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:29:02.099Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: This Is Just How Hard the Oscars Worked to Combat #OscarsSoWhite og:description: At the 88th Academy Awards, the Academy made a major effort to counter the image of #oscarssowhite with a more diverse group of presenters. og:url: https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aa800a3ab6501ee/69887fa9ab6d7700996a8a50/chris-rock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 88th Annual Academy Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is Just How Hard the Oscars Worked to Combat #OscarsSoWhite twitter:description: At the 88th Academy Awards, the Academy made a major effort to counter the image of #oscarssowhite with a more diverse group of presenters. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aa800a3ab6501ee/69887fa9ab6d7700996a8a50/chris-rock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Exactly How Hard the Oscars Worked to Combat #OscarsSoWhite  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 29, 2016 10:12 PM CUT  HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Host Chris Rock speaks onstage during the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Host Chris Rock speaks onstage during the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Kevin Winter--Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 29, 2016 10:12 PM CUT The Academy of Motion Pictures was under significant pressure Sunday night to deliver a show that ran counter to its image as a mostly-white organization dragging its feet on matters of inclusion. Between host Chris Rock’s scathing opening [monologue](http://time.com/4239748/chris-rock-oscar-monologue-video/ "undefined") and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs’ more measured remarks on the organization’s recent efforts, race _felt_ very much front and center at the show. But the Oscars’ producers took great pains to ensure that it would _look_ front and center, as well. Of the night’s 48 presenters and performers (including Rock and Isaacs), 19, or about 40%, were not white. That’s not including Angela Bassett’s pre-recorded [segment](http://time.com/4240662/oscars-2016-angela-bassett-black-history-month/ "undefined"), Rock’s daughter’s [Girl Scout troop](http://time.com/4240783/chris-rock-oscars-girl-scout-cookies/ "undefined") or the three Asian-American children brought to the stage for a rather unfortunate joke about accountants. The Academy’s progress toward becoming a more inclusive body is, of course, more than a percentage for a single night when the whole world is watching. And for many, something doesn’t sit quite right about inviting people of color to present awards for which few, or in many categories zero, people of color were nominated. The real test will come when next year’s nominees are announced in January 2017\. If true progress has been made in a year’s time, the [89th Academy Awards](http://time.com/4240907/oscars-2016-analysis-winners/ "undefined") won’t be marked by that nagging feeling that something is being compensated for. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/"},"headline":"Here's Exactly How Hard the Oscars Worked to Combat #OscarsSoWhite","datePublished":"2016-02-29T22:12:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:29:02.099Z","description":"The producers of this year's Academy Awards tried to counter the #oscarssowhite image with a more diverse group of presenters","url":"https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/","keywords":["awards","Oscars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aa800a3ab6501ee/69887fa9ab6d7700996a8a50/chris-rock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aa800a3ab6501ee/69887fa9ab6d7700996a8a50/chris-rock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"88th Annual Academy Awards - Show","caption":"88th Annual Academy Awards - Show","creditText":"Kevin Winter--Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4242076/oscars-so-white-presenters/","name":"Here's Exactly How Hard the Oscars Worked to Combat #OscarsSoWhite"}}]}] ```