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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Repost: Oprah Winfrey's Rousing Golden Globes Speech

Video courtesy of YouTube: Pop & Sports HQ


Oprah Winfrey accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes on Sunday and delivered a moving speech that brought men and women in the audience to their feet.

Below is a full transcript of Winfrey's acceptance speech.

In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother's house in Milwaukee watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for best actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history: "The winner is Sidney Poitier." Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white, and of course his skin was black, and I had never seen a black man being celebrated like that. I tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door bone tired from cleaning other people's houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation in Sidney's performance in "Lilies of the Field":

"Amen, amen, amen, amen."

In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille award right here at the Golden Globes and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award. It is an honor -- it is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible. Dennis Swanson who took a chance on me for "A.M. Chicago." Quincy Jones who saw me on that show and said to Steven Spielberg, "Yes, she is Sophia in 'The Color Purple.'" Gayle who has been the definition of what a friend is, and Stedman who has been my rock -- just a few to name.

I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know the press is under siege these days. We also know it's the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To -- to tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I'm especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story.

But it's not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It's one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace. So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They're the women whose names we'll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they're in academia, engineering, medicine, and science. They're part of the world of tech and politics and business. They're our athletes in the Olympics and they're our soldiers in the military.

And there's someone else, Recy Taylor, a name I know and I think you should know, too. In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and mother walking home from a church service she'd attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men, raped, and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, but her story was reported to the NAACP where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case and together they sought justice. But justice wasn't an option in the era of Jim Crow. The men who tried to destroy her were never persecuted. Recy Taylor died ten days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.

Their time is up. And I just hope -- I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented, goes marching on. It was somewhere in Rosa Parks' heart almost 11 years later, when she made the decision to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery, and it's here with every woman who chooses to say, "Me too." And every man -- every man who chooses to listen.

In my career, what I've always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave. To say how we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere and how we overcome. I've interviewed and portrayed people who've withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights. So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say "Me too" again.

32 comments:

  1. I watch this and so spot on 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

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  2. I was waiting for her to say...

    “Please look under your seats because everybody gets a gift certificate from CostCo!”

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    Replies
    1. Hahahah you get a dryer - he gets a dryer -
      We all get dryers!!!!!!!!

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    2. Lol this is funny..or a brand new car!!!

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  3. That was a very powerful speech!

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  4. is she interested in politics? i can see a hight potential to be the next president of usa

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    Replies
    1. she and i believe majority of US voters, unlike us here in the Philippines does not go by way of "popularity" (may it be a long, or instant) when it comes to highest office, not unless funded or backed up by black propaganda like what trump did and leveraged on

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    2. Marami Lang may ayaw Kay killary. They had no choice to vote for trump. Yun Lang yun. Katulad din dito sa Pilipinas Wala na choice Kung Hinde si duterte kasi mga kalaban Niya mga pabebe.

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    3. sa huling eleksyon sa US, di ba napatunayan na ang humila ng boto pataas kay trump e yung "typical" old white american males?

      they are naturally racist and would not want to see a woman lead them.

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    4. Ayan nna nman tau sa racist eh, equality for women at iba pang achuchu. Hindi ba pwde nnalo c trump kasi deserved nya ang position as president and he's a true leader. Wlang kinikilingan at wlang inuurungan. Serbisyong totoo lamang!

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    5. @1107 Huwag kasi puro GMA lang ang pinapanood mo. Marami pang ibang sources ng balita.

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    6. On the contrary 11:51, popularity contest na din sa US, which is why si trump eh naging presidente. Also explains yung clamor ng mga tao na tumakbo si Oprah.

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    7. pinagsasabi mo 11:51? Did you see who the US president is? i rest my case.

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  5. she looked gorgeous. ganda make up, outfit. spot on si mareng oprah.

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  6. i like the message but the speech was so-so. nagkaron lang ng impact kase si oprah ang mag-deliver.

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    Replies
    1. ikaw kaya mag speech? eto ang mic teh...

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    2. Learn the US history first before you say the message was so-so.

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    3. puro lahat ng sinasabi nya lagi ay yung black people are always oppressed, yun lage ang take-off launch nya lage sa mga speech pansin ko.. dapat di lang inclusive sa itim mga sinasabi nya. its 2017.

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    4. 148 you feel that way because you dont understand what they go through.

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    5. poor understanding of american history. may i suggest reading james baldwin and the jim crow era?

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    6. Di ko kinaya yung "so-so"! iba ka! @112

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  7. Oprah for President!!!

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    Replies
    1. 9:20 Democrat yan kaya ganyan mag-isip. Yaan mo na

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  8. Kakabasa ko lang. Bring it on daw sabi ng White House.

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  9. Only in America, yung bff ni Weinstein did not know. Thinks of running for office. MAGA

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  10. Oprah is a hypocrite. #SHEKNEW #THEYALLKNEW

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  11. This is the type of post that is worth talking about. Sadly, people here choose to spend time saying something hateful about other celebrities.

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  12. Oprah is always inspiring!

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