Lupita Nyong’o used presenting the Oscar for production design at the 2018 Academy Awards as an opportunity to voice support for undocumented migrants who arrived in the USA as children.
Appearing alongside Kumail Nanjiani, Nyong’o said “We are the two actors you keep hearing about but whose names you have trouble pronouncing.”
She went on to say: “Like everyone in this room and everyone watching at home, we are dreamers. We grew up dreaming of one day working in the movies, dreams are the foundation of America.”
Nanjiani added “So to all the Dreamers out there, we stand with you.”
Last year, US president Donald Trump announced he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, which protects those who came to the country as children. The deadline for lawmakers to find a solution that avoids deporting thousands of people who have been living in the USA since they were children passes on 5 March.
Diversity was also raised at the Oscars by Lee Unkrich, co-director of Coco, while accepting the award for best animated feature film. To prolonged applause in the Dolby theatre, Unkrich said he wanted to offer: “the biggest thank you of all to the people of Mexico. Coco would not exist without your endlessly beautiful culture and traditions.”
“With Coco we tried to take a step forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do,” he added. “Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”
In another segment of the show, Common and Andra Day performed their Oscar-nominated song Stand Up for Something from the movie Marshall. The performance featured 10 activists on stage who have worked on projects including #GirlsLikeUs, Planned Parenthood, the Standing Rock Youth Council, Black Lives Matter and Sandy Hook Promise.
Common’s freestyle rap at the beginning of the performance also included references to the recent Florida school shooting, a direct reference to Trump and the line “Tell the NRA they are in God’s way.”
