At the 10th Governors Awards, the Academy presented Tyson with an honorary Oscar, making her the first Black woman so honored.
On November 18, 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Cicely Tyson with an honorary Academy Award at the 10th annual Governors Awards, making her the first Black woman ever to receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy.
The award recognized her extraordinary and pioneering career, including her landmark performance in Sounder (1972), for which she had received an Oscar nomination decades earlier, as well as her lifelong body of work across film, television, and stage that consistently elevated dignified representations of Black life.
This honor was historically significant given the Academy's long history of overlooking Black performers, particularly women, for major recognition. Tyson's honorary Oscar served as a form of overdue institutional acknowledgment of both her individual excellence and the broader pattern of Black actresses' underrecognition in Hollywood's most prestigious circles.
In her acceptance speech, Tyson reflected on her career-long commitment to never compromising her principles for a role, reinforcing the legacy of integrity that had defined her seven-decade career. The honor was celebrated widely as a milestone in the Academy's ongoing reckoning with diversity and representation in its highest honors.