00:00Marla!
00:02Stand up for Marla, please.
00:06Please.
00:09So in her absence, I'm here to bring up
00:15one of her three beautiful children.
00:18Give it up for Angela Gibbs.
00:22Come on, Angela.
00:30Okay, I didn't expect to feel this feeling.
00:43Mmm, thank you.
00:45My mother loves you so much.
00:47And so do we, thank you.
00:49Thank you, Essence, for this wonderful afternoon.
00:53All right, here we go.
00:55So earlier, we acknowledged how fierce a Virgo is.
00:59But now I want to talk about a woman who was a boss that's a Gemini.
01:04Okay?
01:05Any Geminis in the house?
01:07Well, then y'all will understand this, because y'all are two people, okay?
01:13I want to talk about how I grew up with two mothers.
01:18One that didn't take no mess.
01:20She would beat my behind, and then the next minute say,
01:22now, baby, you want to go to the store with me or make a salad?
01:27Or she'd have us on our hands and knees scrubbing floors, give me a toothbrush and have me scrubbing
01:31baseboards and then make the best chocolate chip cookies you ever had.
01:36But you all have met both sides of her.
01:40You've met the fiery, feisty personality that brought Florence to us, and Mary, and so many memorable roles.
01:48She brought her own seat to the table when the cast of the Jefferson said, they don't want us there.
01:55Come on over here.
01:56She said, no, I'm going to stay here.
01:58And she talked to Norman Lear and the writers, and she said, you know, black people don't talk like that.
02:04And they said, what?
02:06And they were too embarrassed to ask her to move from the table, and she gave them her feedback.
02:12And she helped create Florence, but she also created a new standard where all the actors were allowed to stay at the table and give notes.
02:23Okay?
02:26She fought for a husband, as they said, and a wholesome family on 227.
02:31Shout out.
02:32Where are you?
02:33Hal Williams?
02:34She said, I will not be another single black woman on television.
02:40She fought for black writers, hair and makeup, and people that look like us.
02:46So she was just as fiery behind the scenes as she was in front of the camera.
02:51Then there's the sweet one, the one that made the cookies, that cares so deeply for the people in our community.
03:00She built institutions, the jazz club.
03:04Together we had Crossroads Theater, which 227 was a play originally and came out of.
03:10She knew that we are the gatekeepers of our stories, that we're the preservers of our culture.
03:17And she wanted to make sure that those institutions were in place to do just that.
03:22If she were here right now.
03:25Oh, and one more thing I want to say.
03:28When you talk about the sweetness of my mother, it's always amazing to me, no matter how tired she is or what she's been through.
03:34She always stops for a picture.
03:37She'll always stop for a hug.
03:40She'll always stop to write an autograph.
03:44She cares so deeply for her fans and her colleagues.
03:48She has a saying that because of you, I am.
03:51The feisty side of her really wanted to be here today.
03:57I deal with that side often.
04:00If she was here, she'd tell you she's vibrating on 30 because she's never heard a 30-year-old talk about what they can't do.
04:07She would tell you that we're all one.
04:10So to honor God and to please be kind to each other.
04:16She'd acknowledge all of today's phenomenal honorees.
04:20She would tell you as long as you're breathing, you can achieve your dream.
04:25On behalf of my mother and our family, we want to thank Essence and we want to thank all of you for your continued love and the flowers that you give her.
04:36It's beautiful to be honored by our own.
04:39I know she will cherish this award and so will we.
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