I'm Jonathan Kapart and welcome to Kapart. From the scorching bright clothing of Do the Right Thing to the vibrant African

aesthetics across Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, my guest today has created some of the most recognizable costumes in

Hollywood over the last three decades.

They earned her two Academy Awards for Best costume design, the first black woman to ever win in that category in 2018,

and when she won again in 2022, she became the first black woman ever to win two Oscars. Her name is Ruth E. Carter. In this

encore presentation of a conversation first reported for Washington Post

live on June 22nd. Carter talks about her book,

The Art of Ruth E. Carter, Costuming Black History and the Afro Future, from Do the Right Thing

to Black Panther.

We get into her move from theater to movies,

the differences in designing for each medium,

and her thoughts on her work helping to define black style and culture. I feel like I'm creating a part of culture

that will stand the test of time, that these people are not unlike those who we knew,

those of our past, those of our present,

and those of our futures.

You started out wanting to be an actress, but you write that after costuming plays, you became the de facto costume designer for all of Hampton University. How did that period shape your

creativity and how did you go for being an actress to costume design in the first

place? Well let's not think of it as though I was an actress on the Broadway stage.

I was an actress, I was a Thesebian in college and I loved the theater.

It was a place of cathartic experience for me.

I was a special education major when I started and the theater was a place that I

found a home in where I love to perform and get into characters and so it was an

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