Stacey Abrams: "This is Our Moment" | Women in Entertainment 2019

Hollywood Journal

7 weeks ago

Stacey Abrams spoke at The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 Women in Entertainment.

Transcript

00:00Thank you to The Hollywood Reporter for inviting me to share this day with you, and congratulations

00:05to the fascinating, extraordinary women being honored for your leadership and your engagement.

00:12Storytelling holds an extraordinary power, one that shapes not simply our thoughts, but

00:17our vision.

00:18A good narrative can call people to action, change lives, and set the course for our futures.

00:25I learned the power of good storytelling from a young age.

00:28You see, my parents worked hard, but still struggled to make ends meet.

00:32My mother referred to us as the genteel poor.

00:35We had no money, but we watched PBS and we read books.

00:40As a librarian, she showed us how to dream through the pages of novels, places we would

00:45never see.

00:46My dad was a shipyard worker.

00:48He left home every morning before daybreak.

00:51But by the end of the week, he never failed to tuck us in on Friday nights with these never-ending

00:56bedtime stories that rivaled the best sagas ever penned by Octavia Butler or Charlotte Bronte.

01:03Mom would sign us up as volunteers so we could go and see plays for free.

01:09And as a family, we would watch miniseries on TV or venture to a matinee to see tall tales

01:14come to life.

01:15That's why being in this room is amazing.

01:18Because beyond our home, my parents made sure that we volunteered, despite us pointing out

01:23to them that we were also poor.

01:25They would remind us that no matter how little we had, there was someone with less, and our

01:31job was to serve that person.

01:33We held the hands of the homeless, and we learned to ask about their biographies.

01:39We would tend to the elderly in nursing homes and learn to sit and listen to their recollections

01:45and hear their loneliness.

01:47When my parents both became United Methodist ministers, I saw how they used the power of

01:51stories and the prose of action to weave the possibility of a better world for those we

01:57served.

01:58I have carried this love of storytelling for me in every form, every day.

02:04As a romantic suspense writer as Selina Montgomery, I crafted characters with plotlines where women

02:13who looked like me did things few black women ever dreamed of—ethnobotanists saving small

02:18villages and falling in love with handsome, flawed, leading men who learned to do as they

02:22were told.

02:26As an attorney, I wove complex explanations for my clients' tax issues and gave the IRS a reason

02:32to believe.

02:35But most importantly, from my political and civic work—from state legislator to candidate for

02:40governor of Georgia—my work was rooted in the knowledge that the stories of people of

02:45color, of the marginalized, of the disadvantaged, were too often footnotes in our stories, not

02:52chapters.

02:54Instead of ignoring them, our campaign centered these communities.

02:58And it worked.

03:00Because our mission was simple—for every person to feel in their gut that they were seen and

03:05heard and valued—that their stories, too, carry power and meaning, purpose and grace.

03:13And this is the power that you all possess as leaders here in Hollywood.

03:18With a word, with a scene, with a script, you become advocates for the voiceless.

03:24You become the ciphers that tell the full truth of who we are as a society.

03:29And you are the oracles of our current age—defining our challenges, calling us all to action through

03:35your work.

03:36And as women, you have leveraged your space to highlight our complexity, our strength,

03:43our capacity for greatness, and our capacity for redemption.

03:48When I ran for governor, I was told that to be successful, I had to change my look, hide

03:52all of my past mistakes, and use smaller words.

03:57I'm sure far too many women in this room can relate, being told that who we are is

04:02not enough to be what we imagine.

04:05But my experience of running for governor as a sturdy black woman with natural hair in

04:09my mother's gap—doing so reminded me of the power of authenticity and truth-telling.

04:24Even when it's painful, embarrassing, and difficult.

04:29Because when we are not honest about who we are, we give others permission to lie to us.

04:35Instead, we must tell our truths on screen, in boardrooms and behind the scenes.

04:41We must be honest about the challenges that exist for women, particularly women of color

04:46in this industry, in order to find the solutions that will empower others.

04:50But I know that you can inspire a nation to accept that our stories are valid, no matter

04:55how imperfect they may be.

04:57To uplift the voices of those who wait in the shadows to hear someone whisper their name.

05:03To demand action on behalf of all of us.

05:06This women of entertainment, powerful women, this is our power.

05:12This is our responsibility.

05:16And I tell you today, with no hesitation, this is our moment.

05:21So congratulations, and let's get it done.

05:23Thank you so much.

Stacey Abrams: "This is Our Moment" | Women in Entertainment 2019

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