angela bassett to black girls: “be persistent and win”

Accepting The Icon Award at last night’s Black Girls Rock ceremony, Queen Angela Bassett graced the audience with profound words of Black female empowerment and recognition. The award show, which aired on BET, has become an annual must-watch for its unprecedented displays of #BlackGirlMagic and Black beauty of every age, size and shape. Honoring such a prolific actress as Bassett was virtually a given considering her impeccable body of work and commitment to showcasing the many facets of Black womanhood in her projects.

“When you’re told you’re not good enough, you tell them, not only am I good enough; I’m more than enough,” said Bassett. “When they say, ‘send her back home,’ you tell them, I am home; I am the foundation of what we call home. When they tell you that you’re angry, or nasty, you tell them they’re mistaken. This is me; this is me being resolute and standing firmly in my truth. And when they say you’re not beautiful, you tell them that you are a descendant of royalty; you are a queen,” she added.

“We have much work to do and, together, we are unstoppable,” she said. “Always remember that our voices, the very power that we hold individually, and all of us collectively, it does matter. Now is not the time to be silent. Find your purpose, pursue it relentlessly, passionately and loudly. Be persistent and win.”