Donald Glover Became the First Black Person to Win an Emmy for Comedy Directing

Lynsey Eidell
Updated

Donald Glover didn’t just earn the title of Emmy Award winner at Sunday night’s awards show—he also added “record breaker” to his résumé. The director and star of FX’s Atlanta became the first black director to win the Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series at the 2017 Emmy Awards, breaking a nearly 60-year streak.

Upon accepting the award, Glover shared his appreciation for his fellow Atlanta director and producer Hiro Murai. “This really belongs to Hiro Murai,” Glover said when he took the stage. “He taught me everything about directing. He had the eye for this show and he’s just amazing. I really want to give this to Hiro and just say, ‘I love you and thank you for being my best friend.’ ”

While Glover wanted to give credit to Murai for the win, celebrities took to Twitter to congratulate and recognize Glover’s historical achievement. Celebs (and apparent fans of the show)—including Yara Shahidi, Olivia Munn, Rowan Blanchard, Chance the Rapper, and Common, among others—took to social media to send Glover their praise and pride.

Glover’s win is not only the first for an African-American director for a comedy series, but also only the fourth ever directing win for a black director in both the comedy and drama categories. Previously, Thomas Carter won twice for Equal Justice, Paris Barclay also won twice for NYPD Blue, and Eric Laneuville won for I‘ll Fly Away.

Atlanta,a comedy series that tells the story of the titular city’s rap scene, was nominated for six awards at the 2017 Emmys. Glover himself was nominated for producing, directing, writing, and starring in the show, and he won for both directing and acting. Congratulations on a deserved win!

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