If you tuned in last night, you, like us, were on the floor after Sheryl Lee Ralph’s acceptance speech during the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. Ralph took the stage after winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Abbot Elementary, never neglecting to remind us of these three things:
- “I know where my voice belongs”
Ralph opens with “Endangered Species,” a song originally sung by Dianne Reeves. “I am an endangered species. But I sing no victim’s song. I am a woman I am an artist. And I know where my voice belongs,” she sings. If you struggle with feeling like your voice matters, at this point, you were reminded that it does. - “This is what striving looks like”
“To anyone that has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream, wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t, come true, I am here to tell you that is what believing looks like,” Ralph said at the beginning of her speech. “This is what striving looks like.” Anyone listening heard a powerful account of perseverance and strength. - Don’t give up
Ralph reminds us of the importance of never giving up. She ends her speech with, “And don’t you ever, ever give up on you, because if you get a Quinta Brunson in your corner, if you get a husband like mine in your corner, if you get children like mine in your corner, and if you’ve got friends like everybody who voted for me, cheered for me, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, thank you for these reminders.
