Oprah Winfrey Becomes First Black Woman To Win Cecile B. DeMille Award, Gives Stirring Speech

January 8, 2018

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Media icon Oprah Winfrey was present at the 75th Golden Globe Awards to accept the Cecile B. DeMille Award. With receiving the award Oprah delivered one of the night’s most memorable speeches. Reese Witherspoon, who co-stared with Oprah in the movie A Wrinkle In Time, presented her with the award, and gave praise to the legend.

Before receiving the award a series of clips showed Oprah’s biggest moments, from her work as the creator and host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, in addition to her roles as actress, producer, businesswoman, author, spokeswoman and everyone’s favorite audience gift-giver.

As the queen of Black Excellence stood on stage to collect her award, she glared at the multitude of applause and gave her acceptance speech that began with her recounting the time she watched acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier become the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964. Poitier was also a winner of the Cecil B. DeMille award.

“I had never seen a Black man celebrated like that,” Winfrey said. “It’s not lost on me that there are little girls watching me right now as I become the first Black woman to win this award.”

As the Oprah speech continued, she switched towards the problem that Hollywood and the world face with sexual harassment and assault . “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool that we all have,” Winfrey said, expressing her appreciation for the women who have come forward but also pointing out the voices of women whose “names we will never know.” She acknowledged, “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.”

She garnered more applause when she warned the men who abuse their power “Their time is up!”

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