When Black Panther's Ruth Carter won the 2019 Academy Award for Achievement in Costume Design she started her speech by exclaiming, "This has been a long time." Verily, I say unto you, this the kind of "knowing your worth" energy we all need to be manifesting every day. Ruth Carter, actual legend, stepped on that stage and reminded the Academy exactly who she is.
Ruth Carter, with printed matte black note cards, was like, "I already know I'm great; glad you caught up." Carter's remark was also surely a reference to the fact that she is the first Black person to win an Oscar for Costume Design. Notably, she also brought Marvel Studios its first ever Oscar, too.
Carter was previously nominated in 1993 and 1998 for designing Malcolm X and Amistad. Carter thanked fellow legend Spike Lee, with whom she's has worked frequently over the course of her lengthy career, including on Do The Right Thing and Chi-raq.
Carter's win was immediately followed by another historic win for Black Panther. Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart were awarded the Oscar for Best Achievement in Production Design making Beachler the first Black person to win the award. She is also the first Black person nominated for the award.
