Watch as television executive & 'Black Women In Hollywood honoree Kathryn Busby delivers her acceptance speech.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:06 You have no idea how full my heart is at this moment in time.
00:13 [APPLAUSE]
00:15 They can't tell you how beautiful this is unless you're in this room.
00:21 Anyway, hello black women in Hollywood, I'm so happy.
00:24 [APPLAUSE]
00:27 I'm thrilled to be here at this glorious luncheon where I get to
00:33 experience our collective excellence, where I get to feel the love and
00:39 the inspiration.
00:41 And when I get to see so many icons and friends and
00:45 rising stars, all of you beautiful people everywhere I look.
00:51 I didn't get to this podium by myself.
00:54 I have been so fortunate to have tremendous role models for
00:59 my entire life starting with my grandmother, Zerit.
01:03 Zerit was the first female doctor in Trinidad, the first.
01:08 [APPLAUSE]
01:11 My mother, Rona, who emigrated from Trinidad to New York,
01:16 didn't go to college.
01:18 But with just a high school diploma, she got a job as a secretary for Pan Am.
01:24 And because of that job,
01:25 she made it possible for my family to travel all over the world.
01:29 And my aunt Margaret, at only 21 years of age,
01:34 became Britain's first black female publisher.
01:37 Now, one thing these women had in common is that they didn't accept their
01:44 circumstances.
01:45 They marched ahead because they didn't believe in limitations, and neither do I.
01:50 So coming up in Hollywood, I always felt like I was working two jobs.
01:57 One, my actual job, my job job.
02:00 And two, the job of representing us, of fighting the good fight,
02:05 because I was almost always the only black person in the room.
02:10 But like the women in my family, I marched ahead.
02:15 So please don't believe it when they say that
02:19 Hollywood doesn't want to hear our stories,
02:21 because I'm here to tell you that we do want those stories.
02:25 >> [APPLAUSE]
02:29 >> Just look around you.
02:31 Black women are leading the way.
02:34 That's why we are blessed with the stunning performances of Daniel Brooks and
02:40 Halle Bailey.
02:41 >> [APPLAUSE]
02:43 >> That's why we're blessed by
02:44 the dazzling shows created by Nkechi Okorokaro.
02:48 >> [APPLAUSE]
02:51 >> Quinta didn't believe it when everyone
02:53 said comedies are dying.
02:55 She marched ahead and she gave us a gem of a show.
02:58 >> [APPLAUSE]
02:59 >> Channing didn't believe the conventional
03:02 wisdom that a black woman couldn't run a network and be chairman of a major studio.
03:08 She did both.
03:10 >> [APPLAUSE]
03:12 >> You gotta fight the status quo,
03:14 because you can be the one to change the world.
03:17 You must tell your story.
03:20 You must tell our stories.
03:22 The world needs our stories more than ever.
03:25 We are defying expectations.
03:27 We are changing the industry and we are influencing culture.
03:32 And the spark you see in me is only a reflection of you all.
03:37 Thank you, Essence, again for this wonderful honor.
03:41 I'm blessed.
03:41 Thank you.
03:42 >> [APPLAUSE]