00:00I want to first thank Essence and all the women there for this incredible honor,
00:05which means more to me than any acknowledgement or accolade that I have
00:10been lucky enough to receive thus far. Not only because you, Essence, continue
00:15to be a beacon for black women, but because being seen and appreciated by
00:21you and thereby your readers and thereby everyone in this room feels like home.
00:28It's important that this award honors work done in the space of Hollywood,
00:34A, because I would not be here otherwise, but more importantly because we know that
00:39for too long in films and on television and certainly on the covers of magazines,
00:43we as black women have been all too invisible. And too often, when one of us has been celebrated,
00:50she is seen as the exception to the rule as opposed to one of many burning bright because
00:56she is illuminated by a sea of others. Except here and except with you, Essence,
01:02so thank you so much.
01:09And speaking of the sea of others, because this feels like home, I want to take the opportunity
01:15today to share with all of you some things that I would only share with family.
01:20I woke up the other day and I thought, there is no time like the present. What a time to
01:27be black. And I say that with a heart bursting with gratitude for every single person that
01:34came before us because we would not be here otherwise, but what a time. Yes, we still live
01:42in a time where black bodies are not safe in this country and globally. We live in a time
01:48where parody is not our reality. And yet, we live in the time of black girl magic that the whole world
01:56is reeling from. The fact that today I can be celebrated alongside these women, such vastly different
02:03artists who are in their prime and are not just being celebrated today on this stage, but on a global
02:09stage is proof of that. I don't think we are the token or a passing fancy in the ways that we once
02:18were. We together collectively speak to the majesty of black women, to the breadth of our complexity and
02:28nuance, to the differences between us and to the sameness that we share. So I want to say Lena, Tiffany,
02:39and deny, and all the women in this room, I would feel truly incomplete without you. Now, historically,
02:48Hollywood has had an easier time affording black women with fairer complexions opportunities. This
02:55truth has, yes, benefited me, and it's also left me with a profound anger and confusion as to why I would
03:02be in the pursuit of gaining success inside of such ugliness. But there has been a systemic shift as of
03:12late that I see. When I traveled to Wakanda, or on a girl's trip to New Orleans, or to a Thanksgiving dinner
03:24table, with you three, I understood with more poignancy and purpose why I have been doing
03:33this for so long. So that in each of us another woman or young girl might see a reflection of herself,
03:42of her worth, of her boundless potential. We work in concert, all of us, and I'm so, so proud to be among you.
03:53My first film ever was a horror film in which I played a sassy black friend, which at the time
04:02felt like a rite of passage. I was so proud to be in a studio film. I was playing a cypher of a young
04:10woman, but I was working, and I did not die in the film. I was the only black person in a horror movie,
04:16and I did not die. So that felt like a historic feat in cinema. I continued this way for many years. I
04:26filled the quota on network television shows. I know because I was told that was true. And I played bit
04:33parts until Tina Mabry cast me in a film called Mississippi Damned.
04:39This was a game changer for so many reasons. It marked the first time that I got to play a character
04:51who wasn't there just to move the story along for someone else. She was significant. It was her story,
04:58your story, Tina. It was also the first time that I got to work with a black director and a
05:04cinematographer in the form of Bradford Young. It's important to note that Bradford Young still remains
05:13the only black cinematographer I've ever worked with. And it was the first time that I had worked
05:20with an entirely black ensemble. It was truly an awakening for me. It felt like an exhale to be
05:29embraced as family by that ensemble. I thank you again, Tina, for giving me that gift. It changed me.
05:36It rooted my ambition in something bigger than me. And continuing work like that became my new north
05:43star. And now I can trace almost every significant artistic experience that I've had to date to working
05:53with a person of color. So to those directors, to all those creators, in this room and beyond,
05:59that choose to lift us up, to make room for us to be seen, not just by ourselves, but by the world,
06:05I thank you. I want to acknowledge someone who is not black and is not in the room because she
06:13couldn't be, but it's my mother. Her father, my grandfather, was of Mexican descent. He was a performer
06:20and a band leader at a time where there were very few of them. He was the only very often. I think because
06:26of this, he had a real pressure to assimilate. He didn't want my mother to speak Spanish.
06:31My mom is a woman of color, even though she might not be readily identified as such. And I think
06:36because of that, she always gave me space to explore my identity, to get in touch with who I am.
06:42She understood the void of not having enough guidance in that. And even though she is not a
06:46black woman, throughout my life, she filled me with such pride at being one. She told me that my
06:53broad features and my brown skin were beautiful when classmates did their best to convince me
06:59otherwise. She went to a beauty supply store with me and she bought an at-home relaxer.
07:14Which we were prepared to apply together, but she was proud and patient when I decided that I wanted to
07:23keep my then crusty, crunchy, over-gelled curls. Because she realized that being the fullest expression
07:32of yourself is an act of bravery. She wanted me to be brave. And because of her, I aimed to be.
07:43I wanted to bring her in the room. And speaking of bravery, my little sister is here with me today.
07:48She's way younger and way cooler than me, which is why she's wearing sunglasses.
07:57I'm so proud of you for following your dreams, Jayla. It looks so good on you, sis.
08:05And to all my sisters in the room here, I think we are living inside more than just a moment. I hope
08:12finally our voices can be heard, really heard, because we know all too well that any conversation
08:18about gender equality that does not mention the intersection of race is not the truth.
08:23Any solution
08:30Any solution orchestrated to address the struggles we face as black women and women of color must be
08:36crafted by us, not just with us in mind.
08:40I love, I love, I love, I love, I love seeing all of you in this room. It's my favorite event of the year.
08:48But I hope that we can gather outside of this room more often.
08:52I think we really need to. I feel like we have been siloed off for too long because our collective power
09:08is to be feared and avoided, but not by us. So we need to come together to plot a way forward.
09:17We have come so far and we have so much further to go. I love all of you. You make me love me.
09:27So thank you so much. Thank you.
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