BLACK WOMEN ARE MAKING EMMY DIRECTING HISTORY... NOW CAN SOMEBODY BRING THAT TROPHY HOME?! 👏🏾🏆

Okay, THIS is the kind of history Lady Red likes reporting.

Because Black women aren't just standing in front of the camera this Emmy season.

Baby, they're behind the camera yelling:

“CUT! RUN IT BACK! AND SOMEBODY FIX THAT LIGHT!” 😂🎬

The 78th Emmy Awards nominations have put Black women directors in a historic spotlight, with Salli Richardson-Whitfield pulling off something no Black woman has ever done in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category:

SHE GOT NOMINATED TWICE. IN THE SAME YEAR. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Richardson-Whitfield earned directing nominations for both HBO's The Gilded Age and HBO's Task.

Ma'am said:

“Why take ONE seat at the table when I can reserve TWO?” 😭😂

🎬 AND SHE ISN'T STANDING THERE ALONE

Director Hanelle M. Culpepper is also nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the Paradise episode “Exodus.” 

Then there's legendary filmmaker Julie Dash, nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for Wanda Sykes: Legacy. Dash is, of course, the groundbreaking filmmaker behind Daughters of the Dust.

And Alexandria Stapleton earned a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

So when we're talking about Black women directors getting Emmy recognition this year, we're talking about women working across drama, documentary and variety television.

👏🏾 DIRECTING. CREATING. PRODUCING. RUNNING THE ROOM.

🏆 SALLI'S STORY MAKES THIS EVEN BETTER

Richardson-Whitfield's journey is particularly interesting because many viewers first knew her as an actress.

She transitioned heavily into directing later in her career and has since built a résumé that includes major television productions. Richardson-Whitfield recently reflected on making that career transition in her late 40s and becoming the first Black woman to receive two drama-directing Emmy nominations in the same year. 

Now THAT deserves a BOOM.

Because somebody somewhere is sitting there at 42, 48, 52 or 57 thinking:

“Maybe I waited too long to do what I really wanted to do.”

Meanwhile Salli said:

“Hand me that director's chair.” 🎬😂

Your timeline ain't everybody else's timeline.

🤨 BUT HERE COMES THE SIDE-EYE...

The Emmys have been around for DECADES.

Black women have been directing television for DECADES.

So while we're celebrating these nominations, there's still a much bigger conversation about who gets opportunities behind the camera and who gets recognized once they're there.

The Television Academy's own historical record shows how slowly some directing milestones arrived. Thomas Carter didn't become the first Black man to win Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series until 1990, and Donald Glover became the first Black director to win the comedy directing category in 2017.

2017?!

We had smartphones.

Netflix.

Uber.

Instagram.

And somebody was JUST becoming the first Black director to win that comedy directing Emmy?!

Baby...

THE DOOR WASN'T STUCK. SOMEBODY HAD THE DEAD BOLT ON. 😭

❤️ BUT THIS IS WHY THESE NOMINATIONS MATTER

Representation behind the camera matters because directors help determine how stories look, how characters are presented and ultimately how those stories are told.

And Black women aren't only asking Hollywood to put more Black faces on television.

They're saying:

LET US HELP DECIDE WHAT THE CAMERA SEES.

That's power.

That's progress.

And THAT is worth celebrating.

🔴 LADY RED SAYS...

Give these women their flowers NOW. 💐

Not because they're Black women who happened to get nominated.

Because they're DIRECTORS whose work was good enough to be nominated, while simultaneously breaking barriers that should've fallen a long time ago.

Salli Richardson-Whitfield.

Hanelle M. Culpepper.

Julie Dash.

Alexandria Stapleton.

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

And Salli getting TWO directing nominations?

Baby, that's not knocking on the door.

THAT'S WALKING IN WITH A PLUS-ONE FOR YOURSELF. 😂🏆

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2026 at 8pm ET broadcastiing live from Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, CA on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

👀 730 BOOM FAMILY, LET'S TALK...

Here's my question:

When Black history is being made TODAY, do you think we celebrate it enough, or do we sometimes not realize it was history until 20 years later? 👇🏾

Because Black history didn't stop being written in February.

SOMEBODY IS MAKING THE NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT NOW. ❤️🖤💚

💥 BOOM!

730 BOOM RADIO Chicago Is Home. The World Is Welcome. IT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM!