Its critics raise an important point, admits the organization that gives Oscars to film performers, directors, writers and others. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is embarrassed, for a second straight year, by a lack of minority faces among the 20 nominees for best actor and actress. In addition, no film focusing mainly on minority characters is among eight nominees for the best picture award to be given Feb. 22. "How is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white?" asks Spike Lee, a leading black filmmaker who won't attend the awards ceremony.

"I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion," says Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the academy’s first black president. Amid wide criticism, including from some film celebrities (see video below), the academy’s board last week unanimously endorsed radical changes to its voting rules, recruiting process and leadership. The steps are intended to replace older members with a younger, more diverse group. Leaders hope to double the number of female and minority participants by 2020. "The academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up," says Isaacs.

Nominations announced two weeks ago exclude three black actors: Will Smith, star of the football film "Concussion;" Michael B. Jordan for his starring role in "Creed;" and Idris Elba, a supporting actor in "Beasts of No Nation.” The black director of "Creed" also is bypassed. Continued failure to recognize Asian, Hispanic and black actors undercuts the relevance of Oscars in the eyes of minority moviegoers, suggests Stephane Dunn, director of the Cinema, Technology and Emerging Media Studies program at Morehouse College in Atlanta. "If the academy is not going to reflect who we really are and is not interested in celebrating the artistic array of this world, in terms of ethnicity," she says, "we are right to turn off our televisions and not engage in all the hype of the Academy Awards."

Academy president says: "This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes. The academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership." – Cheryl Boone Isaacs

Professor says: "Hollywood has a race problem. Hollywood has always had a race problem. . . . It continues to ignore the simple fact that people of color want to see their lives reflected in the movies they watch." – Roxane Gay of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

Actress says: "So disappointed that some of 2015's best films, filmmakers and performances were not recognized. . . . These filmmakers deserve recognition. As an Academy member, I would love to see a more diverse voting membership." – Reese Witherspoon, who is white