April Reign is a media strategist and advocate for diversity and inclusion, known for creating the movement #OscarsSoWhite. Reign is credited with starting "the hashtag that changed the Oscars," a movement that prompted the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
to diversify its membership.
Early life and education
Reign was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Reign attended the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
for both college and law school.
Career
Reign worked as a campaign finance lawyer for 15 years. In 2014 she resigned from the FEC for violating the
Hatch Act
The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and vice pre ...
. She is currently the CEO of Reignstorm Ventures, where she advocates for the representation of marginalized communities in all areas of the arts and tech. In 2019 Reign was named as an equity advisor to cosmetics retailer
Sephora
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, n ...
, working with them to eliminate racial bias in stores. In 2020 Reign partnered with Overture Global to create a new digital content studio called ''Ensemble'', aimed at creating content by and for people of color.
Oscars So White
Reign created the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on January 15, 2015 to call attention to
inequality in Hollywood
Inequality in Hollywood refers to the various forms of discrimination and social inequality in the American media industry. There are many branches of the media industry, such as news, television, film, music, agencies, studios, to name some of ...
and the lack of representation of people of color in the
87th Academy Awards
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
nominations. Reign said this movement was intended to draw attention to how films get made, rather than particular actors: “It’s not about saying who is snubbed and who should have been nominated, it’s about opening the discussion more on how the decisions were made, who was cast and who tells the story behind the camera.”
The hashtag returned after nominations were announced on January 14, 2016 to protest the second year in a row that no actors of color were nominated in the
88th Academy Awards
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...
and gained wide attention in the media. In response to the furor sparked by the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, the president of the Academy,
Cheryl Boone Isaacs
Cheryl Boone Isaacs (born 1949) is an American Film promotion, film marketing and public relations executive. She represented the Public Relations Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), known for its annual Academy Awa ...
released a statement promising to take "dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership." As a result, the Academy voted unanimously on January 21, 2016 to make a variety of changes to its membership and governance policies with the goal of doubling the number of women and underrepresented groups by 2020. Reign said in 2016 that while the Academy was moving in the right direction, its membership remained overwhelmingly male and white, and that she would continue her fight "until there is a wealth of films that showcase the nuance and complexity of all marginalized communities, whether it is based on sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, gender identity, or First Nation status."
Despite the changes promised in 2016, the
92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...
once again showed a lack of diversity. Reign said she wasn't surprised by the lack of nominations for diverse actors in 2020: "Despite the Academy's commitment to doubling the number of people of color and doubling the number of women within its membership ranks by this year, 2020, the Academy is still 84 per cent white and 68 per cent male." Reign remains committed to the movement, traveling globally to connect with a wider audience to encourage people to become active advocates for disadvantaged groups. Despite her commitment to improving diversity in Hollywood, Reign says no one from the Academy has ever spoken to her about the movement she started or asked for her help making structural changes.