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00:00Hey, you guys. Thank you so, so much. I am so happy to be here to present my friend Ramala
00:10with a much deserved Visionary Award. I was just so honored when she texted me, hey girl,
00:18Carrie can't present me anymore, can you? And so, here I am, a proud, humble, second
00:28choice to Carrie Washington. I really love Ramala with all of my heart. I mean that.
00:40This is going to sound really weird, but I've been a fan of Ramala's since I was 12. I was
00:46in middle school, seventh grade to be exact. And so, I would see Ramala and her beautiful
00:51black girlfriends walking around on campus and they were always clicked up, rocking the
00:55finest of 90s gear. I'm talking Guess, Tommy, Nautica, just LA black girls. And they were
01:06just so cool to me and I imagined that I'd grow up to have a clique of girlfriends just
01:11like them. And maybe I'd even be their friend, like a 12-year-old kicking it with teenagers.
01:16That would be crazy. Eventually, my mom took me out of Brentwood because in her words it
01:23was too far and too white, and then overcorrected by sending me to high school in Compton. But
01:28luckily, luckily I was reconnected by chance to the beautiful black girl Brentwood clique
01:36about 15 years later. And I was so excited to be reacquainted with them, even though
01:42they did not know me or even remember me at all. They welcomed me with open arms. And
01:49as I was trying to break into the industry myself via my web series, I was so impressed
01:53by how Ramla was able to climb the ranks from interning and PA-ing to becoming a writer
01:58and producer on one of the most game-changingly inspirational shows, Scandal. And now having
02:04created her own game-changing incredible show, which is multifaceted, unapologetically black,
02:13she is still every bit as generous with that knowledge and encouragement. Also proudly
02:17rooted in her culture, her love for and support of black women is undeniable, and so is her
02:23determination to showcase us in our totality. Congratulations on your award. It's been a
02:28pleasure to watch you win, and I can't wait to see what other brilliance you'll bless
02:32us with during what I know will be a long reign of a career. If you could please play
02:37the package. This is my karma for hurting you. I was hurt long before you. As a showrunner
02:52and a writer, it's very important to me that black women are represented. I, of course,
02:57am a black woman. And growing up, I didn't know any showrunners or writers. I didn't
03:03even know this was a job that could be offered to me or something that I could do. A single
03:08film class at Columbia University ignited Ramallah Muhammad's passion for storytelling.
03:13Trusting her intuition, she stepped away from her economics major to immerse herself in
03:19film and English. She brought her stories to life on New York's off-Broadway stages
03:23until the call of Hollywood beckoned her home. She honed her craft at USC's prestigious School
03:29of Cinematic Arts, earning a master's degree in film and television production, the opening
03:34scene of what would become her defining legacy. My journey as a black woman in Hollywood began
03:41actually my first job that I ever had in Hollywood was as a PA. And then I ended up working at
03:46Fox Searchlight as an intern when I was in grad school at USC. And then kind of the big
03:51break I had was as a writer's PA season six on Grey's Anatomy. I would say I was very
03:56fortunate early on in my career to work for Shonda Rhimes and work on Scandal. And that
04:02show was so important to a lot of black women. And then I stayed at Shondaland for nine years
04:07and I just had a, you know, just a wonderful journey. Kerry Washington became the first
04:12black woman to lead a network drama in nearly four decades. Seeing how that impacted other
04:17black women, how people showed up for Kerry, how people showed up for Shonda, that people
04:22did want to see black women on TV. That made me really be inspired to want to put more
04:27black women on television.
04:30Ramla's artistic vision found its perfect canvas in Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere.
04:35Her nuanced writing and profound grasp of human complexity elevated the series, drawing
04:41five distinguished nominations between 2020 and 2021, including a primetime Emmy nod
04:47for Outstanding Limited Series. Ramla's visionary talent reached new heights with
04:52Reasonable Doubt, the first original series from Onyx Collective. As creator and showrunner,
04:58she set the tone for the production company's bold mission of unapologetically black storytelling.
05:04Her dynamic series helped cement Onyx Collective as a vital new voice in television, marking
05:09Ramla as a defining force in the industry.
05:12I really do enjoy when people come to me and say they watch the show, they love the show.
05:16I've seen people say they've gotten into couples therapy because of the show. And so
05:21for me, it's important that in these roles, that we represent our community and represent
05:26voices because they're little girls and little boys out there watching and hoping that maybe
05:31they can do what we do.
05:38It is my honor to present the 2025 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Visionary Award to
05:45the incredible Ramla Mohamed.
05:47You know what, Joisa? I'm going to call you by your government name.
06:16Thank you so much. I just want to thank you for, Joisa rearranged our whole schedule to
06:26do this. So it's very sweet. I'm a little short. I'm 5'2". But wow, what a room. I've
06:38been in this room a few times, but this is obviously a different perspective in many
06:43ways. So I know there are many of us here that have been affected by the fires last
06:48month. So I want to send you love and prayers for having to and continuing to go through
06:55such a devastating experience. Miss Marla, Tiana, Cynthia, to say it's an honor to share
07:04this with you is an understatement. Miss Marla, you were in one of my scandal episodes and
07:09witnessing your talent in person was a gift that I'll always treasure. Tiana, we don't
07:15know each other that well, but your performance in 1001 is truly one of the best on screen
07:21performances I've seen in a long time, maybe if ever. And finally, Cynthia, I'm so grateful
07:31to call you a friend and I'm so excited watching you be recognized for the incredible talent
07:37that you have, and it just warms my heart. So congratulations to you all. In preparing
07:43for this speech, I thought about what I could say here. Then I remembered in 2022, during
07:50the press run of season one of Reasonable Doubt, a white male reporter asked me, how
07:56did it feel to have my own show, given that I came out of nowhere? I smiled. The Kamala
08:06Harris, Jasmine Crockett, Olivia Pope smile that signals, give me a second before I roast
08:14you. And then I politely said, well, I've been a television writer for 10 years, so
08:19it feels fantastic to have my own show. But here's what I really wanted to say. And what
08:27a better place to say it. So here goes. Sir, are you serious? Do you know the struggle
08:39I've been through to get here? The fourth floor walk up I lived in, the fear of failure,
08:44the fear of success, the antidepressants, the failed pilot scripts, pushing through
08:49heartbreak. Oh, and how can I forget just being a black woman? It's actually a miracle
08:55that I made it here. Is that why you question how I got here? Because it's impossible to
09:00fathom that I might be the main character of my own story on my own hero's quest, like
09:07one of the Greek mythological characters you forced me to learn about instead of surviving
09:12a cross-continental kidnapping that you are now forcing us all to forget about. Does it
09:18scare you? Does it scare you that I came from one of your private institutions, that I sat
09:24across from one of your daughters or nieces at the Ivy League school, where despite all
09:28your fears and beliefs, our intellect made us equal? That I got my master's without the
09:35help of a master? That this half-African, half-American woman succeeded by being creative
09:43in a world you created to stifle our dreams, limit our possibilities, and not only did
09:49I surpass your expectations, but I stayed black while doing it?
10:00But the truth is, I'm not the only one who's surviving and thriving, so I want to say their
10:06names, some other black female writers that have inspired me. Yvette Lee Bowser, Ava DuVernay,
10:15Courtney Kemp, Shonda Rhimes, Lena Waithe, Issa Rae, Nkechi Carroll, Katori Hall, Mara
10:21Brock Akil, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Carla Waddles, Diara Kilpatrick, Robin Thede, Erica Harrison,
10:28Loy Webb, Michelle Flowers, Anil Foreman, Jordan Crawford, Rashida Brady, Esther Lou
10:35Withers, Natalia Tomeskin, Tembi Banks, Amy Inouye, Erika Johnson, Tash Gray, Myisha Claussen,
10:43Abby Ajayi, Janine Neighbors, Zoanne Clack, Brittany Mack, Crystal Jennings, Latoya Morgan,
10:50Ayanna Floyd, Radha Blank, Kiana Taylor, Sarah Finney Johnson, Nichelle Tramble Spelman,
10:58Gina Yashiri, Shannon Houston, Jashika James, Janika James, Attica Locke, Timby Locke,
11:05Adane Ebo, Adama Ebo, and Natasha Wathwell.
11:13On this stage right now, I want to say that every one of you in this room, everyone at home
11:19watching this, in watching this room, and wanting to be in this room, all of you deserve to be seen.
11:26Thank you, Essence, for this incredible honor. I'm truly humbled and overwhelmed for this
11:31recognition. I'd also like to thank God for allowing me to be here, stand here, and be
11:37blessed enough to support myself through my art. I dedicate this award to my father and grandmother,
11:44both of whom I miss every day, and I thank you again.