The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made major moves by inviting 842 new members as part of its 2019 efforts to add more diversity.
The prestigious organization, which recognizes and upholds excellence in the film industry, now includes the likes of Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, and Sterling K. Brown among its ranks, Vanity Fair reports.
The 2019 class makeup is 50 percent women and 29 percent people of color, but the overall organization’s total population still lags with only 32 percent women and 16 percent people of color.
Those numbers, however, are a major improvement since April Reign’s #OscarSoWhite viral hashtag in 2015 shamed the Academy leadership into improving the diversity of its ranks. At the time, the Academy’s make up was 25 percent women and 8 percent people of color.
The organization has had a rocky year so far after the Awards producers fell out with Kevin Hart over resurfaced homophobic statements that forced him to step down from his hosting duties.