Oscars whitewash: why have 2015's red carpets been so overwhelmingly white?

[malaise]

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/feb/19/the-great-awards-whitewash-diversity-loses-out-on-the-red-carpets
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At the 60th Academy Awards in April 1988, Eddie Murphy gave a short speech before announcing the nominees for best picture.

In front of the academy and the nominees gathered at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles he introduced himself and waited for the applause to die down. Then he said the following: “When they came to me and said they wanted me to present the award for best picture, my first reaction was to say no, I ain’t going. My manager came to me and said, ‘Why?’”

Murphy proceeded to explain that the reason he considered rejecting the offer was because the academy had consistently failed to recognise black actors. Yes, some exceptions existed in the form of Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier and Louis Gossett Jr, but were they anywhere near enough?

In the 27 years that have passed Murphy hasn’t won an Oscar.

The comic’s call for recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels more pertinent than ever in 2015. This year nearly all the major events this red carpet season from the Grammys and the Golden Globes to the Oscars and the Baftas have been accused of the same glaring deficiency: a distinct lack of colour. At the forthcoming Oscars, none of the major awards feature a nominee of colour. The Grammys looked whiter than they have done in decades. Meanwhile, in Britain, the Baftas were criticised for a lack of diversity and a preference for posh, privately educated white male actors.