Over the weekend, the 2023 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Honors celebrated Kerry Washington, Janelle Monáe, Courtney B. Vance and more at the fifth annual ceremony.
As theGrio previously reported, the ABFF Honors celebrates prominent work in the motion picture industry, with a night dubbed, “A Celebration of Excellence In Hollywood.” Hosted by Deon Cole, the event was filled with inspirational and powerful speeches from the honorees. Kerry Washington, producer, director and actor known for projects such as “Scandal,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Django Unchained” and her upcoming series “UnPrisoned,” was celebrated with the Excellence in the Arts Award (Female).
In her acceptance speech, Washington spoke to how “important” and “extraordinary” an event like ABFF Honors is in Hollywood, recalling Diahann Carroll’s acceptance speech when she won the Legacy Award. “When she came up here to collect her award I remember her remarking at how special this evening was and how extraordinary and important the event felt,” she explained. “She was thrilled that evening to be instead in community. To be one of many. To be steeped in a glow of Black excellence everywhere she looked.”
She added, “We have something that Diahann did not. We have each other. We have rooms like this. We have community. We have each other, right? So today we get to live in the truth that not only is there room for more than one of us at the table, there is strength and power in numbers.”
Janelle Monáe, the singer, writer and actress fresh off her acclaimed performance in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” used her speech accepting the Renaissance Award to speak to the power of storytelling. She said, “It’s a real privilege to be able to tell stories, whether it’s in music, through film, through TV, through fashion, that’s the way that I approach it.”
“That’s the only…
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