Celebrating the Oscars: My Favorite Oscar Moments - 2001

This one is a tie. 2001 was a huge year for the Oscars, as the first, and only black actress won Best Actress, and only the second black actor won Best Actor, on the same night that the first black actor to win Best Actor was honored with an Honorary Oscar. In many ways, this night, the emotion and historical weight of Halle, Denzel, and Sidney all winning opened a lot of doors. While there have been the #OscarsSoWhite years, there have also been a lot more African American nominees and winners since this night. Halle was so shocked and so emotional, everyone was crying with her, Denzel and Sidney shared an incredible moment toasting each other with their Oscars, and a legend was honored.