Halle already won her Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball, but 2007's Things We Lost in the Fire was arguably the strongest performance of her career. Berry played a woman struggling with her husband killed in a random act of violence. She and her co-star Benicio Del Toro were completely ignored during the 2008 Academy Awards. Although the film was a box office failure, it was a critical success, which is usually the formula for most Oscar-winning movies. Watch the powerful clip, above.

Although Denzel Washington had already won a best supporting actor Oscar for Glory, the fact that he didn't get a best supporting act nod for his portrayal of a homophobic lawyer in Philadelphia was unexplainable. The film received five Oscar nominations (won two), but none for Washington. However, he would later go on to win best actor for 2002's "Training Day."

In the late '80s to early '90s, the unspoken rule in Hollywood was, if you were in a Spike Lee movie, no matter how brilliant you were, it was rare you would be recognized by the Academy Awards. Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Wesley Snipes’ drug addict brother was unforgettable, but he was snubbed. The hardest-working man in Hollywood has only received one Oscar nomination, which was for Pulp Fiction in 1995.

Angela Bassett's portrayal of the late Dr. Betty Shabazz was impassioned and poignant. Even though Denzel Washington received a best actor nod and there was a Best Costume Design nod, the passing of Bassett was the Academy Awards' biggest error. Right next to ignoring Spike Lee for best director.

Ignoring Eve's Bayou, which Roger Ebert said was the best film of 1997, was probably the biggest mistake the Oscars ever made when it comes to African-American films. The movie was flawless, with Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitefield, and Debbie Morgan and directed by Kasi Lemmons. Ebert famously said, "If it is not nominated for Academy awards, then the Academy is not paying attention." Well, they surely didn't.

It was a national controversy when the Oscars blatantly ignored Spike Lee's mega successful Do the Right Thing for Best Director and Best Film. The film received two nominations, one for Italian-American Danny Aiello in the Best Supporting Actor category and a nod for Best Screenplay. The legendary Kim Basinger, who was the Angelina Jolie of her time, famously said, "The best film of the year is not even nominated, and it's Do the Right Thing."
Lee did receive an honorary Oscar in 2016.

If Set It Off starred Demi Moore, Gena Davis, Hilary Swank, and Nicole Kidman, the movie would’ve received Oscar nominations across the board—think Thelma & Lousie. Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise all gave incredibly strong performances with a well-written script and good direction by F. Gary Gray. It was no shocker this movie wasn’t received well by the big wigs at the Academy.

It's not only actors and directors who get ignored for the Oscars—musicians do too. Dionne Farris' "Hopeless" was a big R&B hit and definitely deserved a nod for best original song from a movie, which was, of course, 1997's Love Jones. Even though there was a buzz that the song was a contender, it received nothing.

After giving Sidney Poitier an Academy Award in 1964 (the first Black person to win for a leading role) for Lilies of the Field, they passed on even nominating him for In the Heat of the Night in 1967. His performance went down in history when he hollered "They call me Mr. Tibbs!'" to a racist white sheriff. The movie was also the first time a  Black character slapped a white character back on film.

The graphic film about the favelas in Brazil received four Oscar nods, but what left many people amazed was that it was ignored for Best Foreign Film. Roger Ebert, one of the most respected film critics in the world, said he was "mad" at the snub. The film didn't walk away with a win that night, but is considered a classic among Brazilian films.

Good luck to the nominees and — to quote Issa Rae — we are rooting for everybody Black!