Segregation, scrutiny, and decades of erasure – Hollywood was everything but kind to Hattie McDaniel in the years following her 1940 Academy win, the first for a Black performer. Sympathizers for the Academy’s cause would, perhaps, feel that the industry was designed like that then, much like the world around it, and they weren’t doing anything different. If that weren’t enough, the Oscar she so rightfully earned mysteriously vanished from Howard University in the late 1960s.
What happened to this historic award? How could something so significant simply disappear? This is the story of a win, a lost award, and a mystery that remains to be solved.
Hattie McDaniel made history as Mammy
Hattie McDaniel’s Mammy in Gone with the Wind won her the Golden Statue. It is hard to succinctly express the weight of the moment. While the character itself was written within the confines of Hollywood’s racial prejudices at the time, McDaniel infused Mammy with a warmth and strength that made the character stand out, especially playing a woman who was incisive, strong, and likely far more intelligent than the people around her.
But Hollywood’s treatment of her was anything but celebratory. When she attended the Academy Awards ceremony at the Ambassador Hotel, she was not allowed to sit with the film’s other nominees. The hotel had a strict no-Black policy, and she was only permitted entry after producer David O. Selznick pulled strings to get her in.
Even then, she was relegated to a small, isolated table at the back of the room, a cruel reminder that, despite her talent and recognition, she was still seen as an outsider.
McDaniel’s Oscar win was also met with backlash from some members of the Black community. Critics, including the NAACP, accused her of perpetuating racial stereotypes by frequently playing the roles of maids and servants. But McDaniel, ever defiant, famously responded, “I’d rather play a maid than be one.”
Despite the controversy, it seems she understood the power of representation – even if it was imperfect. Upon her death in 1952, she bequeathed her Oscar to Howard University, in hopes to give future generations of Black artists some inspiration.
The Vanishing Act
For years, McDaniel’s Oscar – technically a plaque, since supporting actors at the time received plaques instead of statuettes – was prominently displayed at Howard University’s drama department. But sometime in the late 1960s, it disappeared without a trace. No theft report was filed, no official statement was made, and no clear explanation ever surfaced. To this day, its whereabouts remain unknown.
There are plenty of theories, but none have ever been confirmed. Some believe it was stolen or deliberately discarded during the era of student protests when young activists at Howard were pushing back against systemic racism and perhaps saw McDaniel’s award as a symbol of Hollywood’s historical exploitation of Black actors.
Others speculate that a professor took it for safekeeping, only for it to be forgotten over time. One particularly bizarre rumor suggests that someone threw it into the Potomac River, an outlandish claim with zero evidence to support it. And yet, despite decades of searching, the plaque has never surfaced – not in an auction house, not in an antique store, not even on eBay.
Denise Randle, who worked on tracking Howard University’s artifact inventory in the early 1970s, initially believed the Oscar had been thrown away but later suspected it had simply been misplaced.
Despite efforts to replace missing Oscars, the Academy did not reissue McDaniel’s initially. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened in 2021, chose to leave the case empty. “Not only does the empty case pay homage to McDaniel’s important story and legacy, but it also encourages visitors to reflect on the treatment and omission of so many Black artists across film history,” Doris Berger, the museum’s Vice President of Curatorial Affairs would say of their choice.
For decades, McDaniel’s family and admirers fought to have the missing Oscar replaced, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences repeatedly refused. Their stance was frustrating and baffling – why deny the rightful recognition of a history-making Black woman? It wasn’t until October 3, 2023, that the Academy finally did the right thing.
Hattie McDaniel comes home
At a special ceremony called “Hattie Comes Home,” Howard University was presented with a replacement Oscar, more than 50 years after the original vanished. The event was an emotional moment, attended by members of the Academy, Howard University officials, and Hollywood luminaries.
Phylicia Rashad, the Tony Award-winning actor, and dean of Howard’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, spoke about the importance of McDaniel’s legacy and the impact her award would continue to have on future generations of Black artists.
The ceremony also included performances from students and a moderated discussion about McDaniel’s career. McDaniel’s great-grandnephew, filmmaker and actor Kevin John Goff, expressed his gratitude, noting that his father, Edgar J. Goff Jr., had spent years trying to ensure McDaniel’s legacy was properly honored. “The reissue of Aunt Hattie’s Oscar has definitely been long overdue,” he said. “She would be absolutely delighted to know that it’s going home to where she wanted it to be.”
While the mystery of the missing Oscar may never be solved, the restoration of McDaniel’s honor is a small but significant victory. Decades later, her presence and impact are finally being given the respect it deserves. Hattie McDaniel has, at long last, come home.
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