Essence’s recent Black Women in Hollywood event did what the rest of the 2020 awards season wouldn’t: it honored women of color, multiple women of color. The annual awards ceremony and luncheon, held last week, celebrated actresses Niecy Nash (“Claws”), Lashana Lynch (“Captain Marvel”), and the cast of “Pose,” including Hailie Sahar, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Mj Rodriguez, and Angelica Ross. The event also presented prizes to “Queen & Slim” director Melina Matsoukas and “Pose” writer-director-producer Janet Mock.
A ceremony honoring these women would be special any day, but it is especially exciting — and important — given that “Harriet’s” Cynthia Erivo was the sole actor of color nominated at the Oscars and that the BAFTAs totally excluded performers of color.
“We can’t count on other people to recognize us, but we can recognize each other,” Essence Chief Executive Michelle Ebanks said in her opening remarks, per the Los Angeles Times.
Lynch, whom you can catch next in James Bond pic “No Time to Die,” shouted out Matsoukas in her acceptance speech. The two collaborated on the upcoming FX sci-fi show “Y: The Last Man.” “Thank you for encouraging me to cut off all my hair for a TV show,” Lynch told Matsoukas. “It taught me more than you’ll ever know about the power of black women’s self-love. In an industry where black women are always encouraged to add to their crown and glory to get ahead, you told me and taught me and showed me that by cropping my hair and embracing the essence of who I am … that I could still advance. So, thank you very much.
Lynch continued, “The true essence of humanity lies in the sacrifice of black women. Every year, I look forward to watching the speeches of women in this room who continue to radiate so beautifully through their talent, their intelligence, and their sensitivity. And every time I watch a speech and see the reactions of the women in the room, I think, ‘Bruh, we are the table,’” she added.
Matsoukas paid tribute to Beyoncé, with whom she collaborated on music videos such as “Formation.” “My true first foray into directing was 15 years ago with my sister, Beyoncé, who genuinely started my career,” she said. “She taught me how to work, how to dream, how to achieve, and most importantly as an artist, how to control your own narrative. She took a chance on me when no one else would and entrusted me with her own art,” Matsoukas recalled. “From ‘Upgrade U’ to ‘Formation,’ we grew up together. She taught me not only how to be a revolutionary but how to be the revolution. Without her, I’m not the same filmmaker today.”
“Master of None,” “Insecure,” and Rihanna’s “We Found Love” video are among Matsoukas’ other directing credits.
Mock and the actresses of “Pose” accepted their awards from co-star Billy Porter. The former used the moment in the spotlight to call attention to the plight of queer black communities. “Too often, black trans women and black queer and gender-nonconforming folk put their bodies on the line every day to be themselves,” she said. “Grappling with housing and joblessness and a lack of access to healthcare and education. Navigating our own people’s intolerance and willful ignorance, pushing our sisters out of homes, intolerant schools, and churches and into detention facilities, foster homes, prisons, and deeper into poverty.” She continued, “And these alarming issues remain widely unaddressed because we as a culture do not acknowledge that trans women are women, that black bodies are valuable and that black trans girls and black trans women are worthy of our protection and care.”
“The struggle for black people must include black trans and queer people, period,” Mock said. “And this award reaffirms that our stories, our lives, our experiences matter and reassures that the way that we tell it from the perspective and talents of those who’ve lived it, is most impactful.”
“Pose” will return for Season 3 on FX later this year.
Ava DuVernay presented the final award to Nash, who starred in the former’s “When They See Us” and “Selma.” In her acceptance speech, the newly single Nash spoke about generational differences, gender roles, and the challenges of creating and sustaining change.
“There was a huge myth that I inherited from the women in my family which is, ‘You are nothing without a man. Get one and keep one, no matter what,’” Nash recalled. “This long line of women that I come from had never been taught what choosing themselves looks like.” She stressed, “Heavy is the head who wears the crown of change. I was chosen to disrupt the pattern in my family. I’m not quite sure why it’s our instinct to run from pain instead of realizing it’s a barometer for all the bull … we allow, participate in, condone, and create sometimes. And I was thinking that maybe if we didn’t see pain as a punishment, we could welcome it with open arms. We could sit with it and take copious notes,” she said.
Nash will appear next in Phyllis Schlafly miniseries “Mrs. America,” premiering April 15 on FX on Hulu. She will also reprise the role of rising crime boss Desna Simms on the fourth and final season of “Claws.” It is expected to air this summer on TNT.
Essence didn’t throw the only party honoring black women this awards season. According to The New York Times, Alfre Woodard hosted her annual pre-Oscars bash, the Sistahs’ Soirée, a chance for black women in the industry to recognize one another and build camaraderie. “I’m gathering women who have been nominated in the acting category by the academy,” Woodard said, “as well as those who, in a perfect world, should have been.”
The “Clemency” star, who also attended Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood event, emphasized “It’s important to me that when we hear our sisters’ names, we think good thoughts and feel protective of them,” she said, “so that we don’t get into that bogus sense of competition that the business wants to put you in by saying, ‘Too bad there’s only three roles for black women this year,’ and then they send everybody from KiKi Layne to Cicely Tyson up for the same role.”
