Hattie McDanielproclaimed herAcademy Awardfor playing Mammy inGone With the Windto be a beacon for her future.
In bequeathing her plaque to Howard University, she hoped to inspire future generations of Black artists.
But that beacons light dimmed when her award went missing at the end of the 1960s.
Hattie McDaniel at the Academy Awards in 1940.Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
“I wasn’t interested in that particular key in of method or energy.
My thought was that that was going to take care of itself, and I was confident of that.
I didn’t feel the need.
The ‘Hattie’s Come Home’ ceremony at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 1, 2023.Getty Images
To me, it would’ve felt like begging.
And in my mind, she won the award.
She deserved to win it.
The replacement plaque of Hattie McDaniel’s Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.Getty Images
I felt from those efforts that the moment would come for the replacement.”
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
And it did on Oct. 1, 2023, whenthe Academy presented Howard with a replacement.
Goff also credits the museum’s display for renewing interest in McDaniel’s win and its history.
“Her Oscar’s the only one that’s missing in that exhibit,” he adds.
“It does give you a shock.”
“It shows that she’s still relevant,” he reflects.
It’s something that my father would’ve loved to have seen.
I’m appreciative and grateful to the Academy for replacing her Oscar.
It was long overdue."
Stewart defines McDaniels win as one of the most significant in Oscar history.
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