In her Golden Globes speech on late Sunday night, Meryl Streep (who won the Cecil B DeMille Award), captured the mood of the American electorate, and the world at large, by slamming Donald Trump and calling his rhetoric the “one performance this year that stunned me”.
However, one performance that did stun the Golden Globes was that of the beautiful Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana Ross’ daughter) who plays the goofy Dr Rainbow Johnson on Black-ish. Ross became the first black woman to win Best Actress in a Comedy since 1983, which was last won by Debbie Allen won for Fame. An all-time high of African-American actors have been nominated. Insecure star Issa Rae was up alongside Ross. Black-ish’s Anthony Anderson and Atlanta’s actor Donald Glover were also in the running for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Ross dedicated a beautiful and moving speech honouring and recognising fellow women of colour: “This is for all the women, women of color, and colorful people whose stories, ideas, thoughts are not always considered worthy and valid and important. But I want you to know that I see you. We see you.”
Ross’ win and the other nominations of actors of color are particularly significant following the #OscarsSoWhite debacle that bombed social media last year. Beyond her standard thank you speech to her family and fellow actors in the show, Ross praised the show’s ability to portray “stories that are outside of where the industry” looks. She said, “It is an honour to be on this show, Black-ish to continue expanding the way we are seen and known, and to show the magic and the beauty and the sameness of a story, and stories that are outside of where the industry usually looks.”
Or as Bow Johnson could say: