Oscar Luncheon Summons Protestors Outside The Beverly Hilton

As #OscarsSoWhite continues to put a damper on festivities leading up to the ceremony, today’s annual luncheon at The Beverly Hilton was disrupted by a group of protestors who held signs that depicted the illustration of a white Oscar statue with a black backdrop and the fueled #OscarsSoWhite hashtag sprawled across the top in red.

The staged protests was initiated by Najee Ali, who is the director pf Project Islamic Hope. Security was on high alert at the Beverly Hilton in anticipation of a demonstration as checkpoints required a rigorous process that subjected attendees to multiple exercises of vetting before anyone was allowed entry.
Armed guards were stationed at key locations around the area as the mood evoked the spirit of what the Academy Awards have come to represent since the nominations were announced a few weeks ago.
The lack of diversity two years in a row among the nominees was particularly hard to ignore and has incited a boycott from the likes of Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, director Spike Lee, and Rev. Al Sharpton.
The Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on Feb. 29, but in the meantime the Academy is working overtime to make amends in a race that might be too far gone for a victory.