WATCH: Black Women In Hollywood: Nkeche Okoro Carroll Acceptance Speech
Watch as writer, producer & 'Black Women In Hollywood honoree Nkeche Okoro Carroll delivers her acceptance speech.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Thank you guys so much.
00:03 I would just like to point out to my mom, who is in Nigeria
00:07 and is going to watch this on her own,
00:08 and we're not going to ask how.
00:10 [LAUGHTER]
00:12 But I think she was scared to death
00:14 that I would come up here in my sweats and my uggs
00:16 and embarrass the family name.
00:17 So mom, I did not.
00:19 [APPLAUSE]
00:23 Thank you so much to Essence for this incredible honor.
00:27 True story, I used to sneak into this event.
00:31 Different venue, security was lighter.
00:33 [LAUGHTER]
00:35 But that's how desperately I wanted
00:38 to hear these inspirational speeches
00:40 by these dope black women.
00:41 And Essence, I'm not going to say how I got in,
00:45 but my apologies.
00:47 But truly, that was just a few years ago.
00:50 So to be standing up here now is insane.
00:56 It legitimately blows my mind.
00:58 And it turns out maybe all I had to do
01:03 was put a dope black woman on network TV
01:05 who was keeping a white man in her basement to do it.
01:07 But hey, whatever it takes.
01:12 But seriously, I still have no idea
01:13 how I ended up on this stage.
01:16 Real quick side note, I called Yvonne
01:19 when I got the email about this.
01:21 And I was like, how?
01:22 Why?
01:23 What?
01:25 Have any of y'all ever been cursed out by Yvonne Orji
01:27 before?
01:27 [LAUGHTER]
01:28 That's not my brain.
01:31 It's an experience, because she refused
01:33 to let me devalue my worth or the value of what
01:37 I bring to this planet.
01:39 So--
01:39 [APPLAUSE]
01:45 And for those who haven't been cursed out by her,
01:47 it's kind of like if Jesus and DMX got together.
01:51 And then there's a little seasoning
01:52 of offended Nigerian auntie thrown on top.
01:55 It's a-- try it.
01:57 It works.
01:57 It's inspirational.
01:59 So Yvonne, I just want to say thank you,
02:03 not just for being a great friend,
02:04 not just for being an amazing prayer partner, road dog,
02:08 my Niger sister, just all the things.
02:10 You've been such a source of support and joy.
02:14 And just thank you so much.
02:17 And it's not just Yvonne.
02:20 Honestly, it applies to my entire sister circle
02:23 of amazing Black women, many of who are here today.
02:26 We've got Chika Chuka Dubele.
02:27 We've got my manager at Desawa, Kelly Stewart, Amber Raspberry.
02:31 Nija is somewhere in here.
02:33 There you are.
02:35 But I just want to say thank you to my sister circle
02:37 for always being there for me, always supporting me.
02:41 It's funny, because I always say it takes a village
02:46 to raise a writer.
02:47 And so my mentor village includes amazing people
02:51 like Gina Prince-Bythewood, who was so lovely in that video.
02:57 Because actually, what happened is I respectfully stalked her.
03:01 And so she agreed to become my mentor.
03:04 And from there became a very dear friend,
03:07 even though occasionally she still trips me out
03:09 when my phone rings and I see her name pop up.
03:11 And I'm like, oh my god, it's Gina.
03:13 It feels amazing.
03:14 But Gina, thank you for always supporting me,
03:16 for always being a constant source of inspiration.
03:18 Oh my goodness.
03:19 Always in everything you do, class act, and brilliance.
03:22 Janine Sherman-Barwa, you're over there.
03:26 Hi, my love.
03:30 Yvette Lee Bowser.
03:31 I mean, just incredible women who aren't just inspirations
03:38 to me, but push me to be my very best.
03:43 I want to thank my amazing studio home, Warner Brothers
03:47 Discovery, and the incomparable Channing Dungey.
03:50 I mean, how blessed am I to have a studio home where
03:58 my chairwoman looks like Channing, acts like Channing,
04:03 is as brilliant as Channing.
04:05 And I get to say that that's my home.
04:06 Thank you so much for always supporting me.
04:09 The incredible cast, crew, and staff of All American,
04:13 All American Homecoming, Found.
04:15 They are truly my secret sauce.
04:23 They are the special ingredient that makes all of it work.
04:26 And of course, my partner in crime at NBC, Miss Lisa Katz.
04:30 So you all know Lisa as the president of NBC.
04:37 I was very blessed to meet her earlier in her career,
04:40 where she graciously sat down with a young baby writer who
04:43 very ambitiously told her, one day,
04:45 I am going to have three network shows on TV at the same time.
04:50 10 years later, almost to the day of that conversation,
04:53 Lisa greenlit my third show, Found,
04:56 and made that career milestone come through.
04:58 I know it's weird to call the president of NBC your road dog,
05:07 but she really is.
05:08 She really is.
05:10 And last, but most definitely not least,
05:12 the real MVPs of my life, my family.
05:16 OK.
05:22 First of all, if y'all really understood
05:23 what it took to tell a Nigerian mother that I was going
05:26 to quit my very stable job at the Federal Reserve
05:28 to pursue writing, it's a miracle that I'm up here.
05:32 But mom, you heard me, and you supported me eventually.
05:39 But seriously, the love, the support,
05:42 I can't thank you enough.
05:43 And we won't say how you're watching this back home.
05:47 My siblings, who helped me convince my mother
05:49 and have constantly supported me, and then most importantly,
05:55 my husband John and my two amazing sons, Isaiah and Elijah,
06:02 my oldest of which, Isaiah, is here because he
06:05 got to skip school.
06:06 You're welcome.
06:07 I just-- there is no me.
06:11 There are no awards.
06:12 There are no shows without you guys.
06:15 And finally, I will leave you with this.
06:18 When one of my aunts-- and I have like 9,000.
06:21 My mom has a lot of sisters, a lot of best friends.
06:23 People always snatch me up in the street.
06:25 I got a lot of aunts.
06:26 But when I told one of them about this award,
06:29 she was so excited, and she said,
06:31 not bad for the little kid with the heart
06:34 problems who loved TV.
06:36 When she said that, it reminded me just how far
06:39 I came with the dreams I had.
06:41 So I want to take a moment to thank that little girl
06:44 with the heart problems who sat in Cote d'Ivoire
06:46 and dreamed the seemingly impossible dream.
06:49 Well done, my love.
06:50 Your dreams got us here.
06:53 [APPLAUSE]
06:54 And to every little black girl sitting somewhere out there
07:02 today dreaming the seemingly impossible dream,
07:05 thinking that maybe one day, I'm here to tell you
07:08 there is no maybe.
07:10 Just do it.
07:11 Dream big and pursue it.
07:13 We are all out here creating space for you,
07:16 and we will gladly hold that space until you join us here.
07:20 Thank you all so much.
07:21 [APPLAUSE]
07:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:28 (upbeat music)