When Viola Davis was named Best Actress in a Drama at this year’s Emmy awards, the first black woman to win the award took the opportunity to call out Hollywood’s failures. “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” she said. #

Since its premiere earlier this year, Fox’s musical soap opera about a hip-hop dynasty with an all-black main cast has enjoyed huge amounts of attention and a consistent spot in television’s top-rated shows, all the while playing with racial stereotypes. #

During the filming of HBO’s Project Greenlight, Matt Damon, left, interrupted producer Effie Brown, right, to explain what diversity is. “When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show,” he told her, seemingly insisting on a colorblind worldview. He later apologized. #

Aziz Ansari’s Netflix show Master of None tackled a diverse range of serious topics (the first generation experience, interracial dating, sexism in show business, to name a few) while being absolutely hilarious. #

The Hollywood Reporter revealed its annual “Actress Roundtable” cover, featuring only white women, with a disclaimer: “The awful truth is that there are no minority actresses in genuine contention for an Oscar this year.” To many, that excuse wasn’t good enough. #

The award-winning writer and producer Larry Wilmore, center, stepped in front of the camera for Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, a comedy roundtable that manages to inspire real conversation—and laughs. #

All 20 acting nominees for this year’s Academy Awards were white, the first time such a thing has happened since the Oscars of 1995. #

When Nicki Minaj, right, voiced her frustration that the VMAs hadn’t properly acknowledged her videos for “Anaconda” and “Feeling Myself” because she didn’t celebrate “women with very slim bodies,” Taylor Swift took the comment personally, re-framing a conversation that was initially about race and body issues into a stereotypical woman on woman feud. They later performed Swift’s “Bad Blood” at the ceremony together. #

Former Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac revealed a troubling interaction he had with host Jon Stewart over a bit that Cenac felt was racially insensitive. “He just started screaming that to me. And he screamed it a few times. ‘Fuck off! I’m done with you,’” the comedian told Marc Maron.   #

Sanjay’s Super Team is the story of a first-generation Indian American boy whose daydream blends together Hindu traditions and American cartoons and comics, making the Oscar-nominated short the studio’s first production to feature a non-white main character and non-Western themes. #

The year 2015 saw three comedies featuring families of color, Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, and Jane the Virgin, achieve success with both audiences and critics at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. #

The cinematic account of the Stonewall riots was derided for white-washing a historical event that was largely “driven by people of color, transgender folks, and drag queens.” #

After 16 years helming the 11 o’clock spot on Comedy Central, Jon Stewart passed the Daily Show baton to Trevor Noah, a South African comedian known for confronting international and racial topics with ease. #

A group of cast and crew members walked off the set of Adam Sandler’s new film, The Ridiculous 6, after objecting to the comedian's treatment of Native Americans. #

While accepting a cinematic universe that includes (among others) aliens, some viewers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens found it implausible or unacceptable that there could be such a thing as a black storm trooper. The movie's star, John Boyega, brushed off haters with a succinct, "Get used to it." #

Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra made her U.S. debut on ABC’s FBI drama Quantico, serving as the first Indian actor to star in a primetime drama on American TV. #