The announcement of John Legend’s Emmy win on Sept. 9 made him the first African American man to receive the coveted EGOT. The EGOT is composed of at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony; people who have received all four awards enter an elite level of artists who have achieved excellence.
Celebrating Legend’s accomplishment is absolutely warranted but celebrating the entertainment industry for finally awarding a person of color is misguided. Show business has been dominated by white men since the beginning; adding one black man to the list of EGOT winners does not change that fact.
Granted, the number of people who have received EGOTs is extremely small. Before Legend won alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, there were only twelve who could claim an EGOT. Out of those twelve, Whoopi Goldberg is the only other African American.
Statistically speaking, about 13 percent of current EGOT winners are black. To put that in perspective, as of last year, 13.4 percent of the American population identifies as African American, according to the United States Census Bureau.
While the EGOT numbers do reflect the demographic facts, the entertainment industry does not. Minorities are still severely underrepresented in film and television, according to Variety. The EGOT numbers may lead some people to believe the entertainment industry has become equal, but the pool of recipients is too small to reflect the harsh reality.
After the announcement of Legend’s achievement, many took the win to mean the industry was finally giving African American entertainers the credit they rightly deserve. People saw it as a sign of hope for performers in show business, despite being anything but.
“[Legend’s EGOT] functioned as a rare opportunity for industry stakeholders to pat themselves on the back for achieving the kind of racial inclusion that they are often pilloried for lacking,” according to The Atlantic.
It is impossible for the entertainment industry to be unaware of their reputation for being exclusive and not diverse. Legend undoubtedly won for his talent, but it made a coincidental opportunity for the industry to rebrand itself as inclusive.
“His win is presumed to mean something, and it’s fair to suggest that, given other such moments of achievement. Legend’s well-earned moment runs the risk of becoming a kind of racial-progress overreach that is seen as a final piece of the puzzle, when in reality it’s just part of its framing,” The Atlantic stated.
In other words, it’s important to remember Legend’s success is not the one moment future historians will point to and call the end of minority struggles in Hollywood. The battle for equality will not end with one event.
“Moments of triumph for black public figures like Legend are often optimistically rendered by the media as evidence that the culture is closer to solving its structural and institutional problems with racial inequity,” according to The Atlantic.
At the end of the day, Legend’s EGOT is a win for the black community, but it is not the win. It may be a step in the right direction, but there is still a need for more diversity in the entertainment industry.