Viola Davis brought tears to several audience members’ eyes at the 2015 Emmy Awards in her acceptance speech for winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. My intention was not to take this historic and important moment from Viola Davis or other women of color but I realize that my intention doesn’t matter here because that is what I ended up doing.
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“In my dreams and visions, I seemed to see a line, and on the other side of that line were green fields, and lovely flowers, and handsome white ladies, who stretched out their arms to me over the line, but I couldn’t reach them no-how”, she said.
Viola Davis made history on Sunday by becoming the first black woman to win an Emmy for best drama series actress, but said there is still work that needs to be done in getting more diverse stories on screen. Uh-huh, okay. Folks on Twitter were quick to point out how ridiculous that statement was, calling Grahn out.
The poetry and eerie timelessness of Tubman’s quote resonated powerfully with women of color everywhere, who have long felt ignored by Hollywood – in terms of both nominations and, as Davis pointed out, the scarcity of roles for women of color to begin with. ALL women belittled.” In a separate exchange with a fan on Twitter she wrote, “I think she’s the bees knees but she’s elite of TV performers. The only thing that separates women of colour from anyone is opportunity.
And does Grahn truly wish she were being offered the same roles as Davis?
“I’ve been in this business close to 30 years, and I would put her at the top of this list in terms of support”.
“I see a line”.
And that’s coming from a two-time Oscar nominee. Davis, Aduba and King’s wins are vessels, in this respect, breaking down barriers that stand between diverse actors and the recognition they deserve.
Then, her argument changed as she tried to change the conversation, saying she wished Davis spoke about all women, not just women of color.
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Though she may have left the ceremony without an Emmy to call her own, Taraji P. Henson may have been one of the biggest winners of the night.
