The industry’s most famous and celebrated black women gather and honor one another at the annual Oscars week luncheon.
Oprah Winfrey at the 8th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon
Frank Micelotta / PictureGroup
All it took was two words.
When Mara Brock Akil, the creator of BET's hit show Being Mary Jane said "Regina King," the entire crowd — hundreds of some of the most powerful (and famous) black women in Hollywood launched into a rousing round of applause. The actress was one of several being honored at the 2015 Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon, and to toast her 30-year career, she was being presented with the Fierce & Fearless Award. By the time the actress and director took the stage, following a video montage that featured the likes of Ice Cube, Holly Robinson Peete, Gabrielle Union, Ben McKenzie, and others, King's face was soaked with tears, humbled and overwhelmed at the words her colleagues offered to sum up her worth in Hollywood.
At one point, Brock Akil — before presenting King with her award — reminded everyone in the room of one of King's more dynamic roles: Margie Hendricks, the long-suffering lover of esteemed musician Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx), in Ray. Brock Akil noted that a moment was missed when King wasn't honored with an Academy Award nomination for that role, which led to another eruption of applause in the room.
Acknowledgments like that one are why the Essence event — this is the magazine's eighth such luncheon — has become such a powerhouse in just under a decade. This occasion is a chance to put the industry's biggest and brightest black women in one room and pay homage to those who often get overlooked by mainstream awards. It happens in the week leading up to the Academy Awards, and it offers black women in the business the chance to take a stage, hold a trophy, and give thanks in a sororal environment, something mainstream awards shows often don't give them.
"When I think of what 'fierce' and 'fearless' mean, we all experience fear. We all do. But courage is moving fiercely through that fear," said King, who is currently at work directing a future episode of Scandal and most recently directed this week's episode of Being Mary Jane. Then she spoke directly to Brock Akil and Shonda Rhimes, thanking them for giving black women opportunities both in-front-of-the-camera and behind-the-camera, and for telling diverse stories of black womanhood.
Regina King accepts the Fierce & Fearless Award onstage at the 8th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Frank Micelotta / Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup
This year's event—which will air as a primetime television event on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN —opened with Oprah Winfrey taking the stage and revealing that her mentor, Maya Angelou, died on the say that she filmed her first scene in Selma, the movie that documents the three marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 that led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act.
"I can't tell you what it's like to lose a rock, a wisdom source," Winfrey said, the crowd hushed as they listened to her speak. "But I can tell you that the spirit of her abides with me every day."
The audience of mostly women was silent as Winfrey spoke of Angelou's inspiring words to her, which were a gift the writer presented to Winfrey for her 50th birthday. The legendary poet told Winfrey to soldier on and continue, even in the face of adversity.
Stories such as this were the narrative of the day, with presenters and honorees talking about the struggles and the rewards of being a black woman navigating a world as closely knit and as complicated as Hollywood.
There was another great moment when writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (whose 2014 film Beyond The Lights earned an Oscar nomination for best original song), captivated everyone as she reminded them of her athletic past and made one hell of a metaphor in the process. She spoke of her experiences playing basketball in high school and running track at UCLA, and how she used her life in Hollywood as a narrative that black women in this industry say they know too well.
"Most people love playing in front of a home crowd. But I loved to get the win in someone else's house. Being an athlete, you learn that ... there's always going to be someone talking and yelling at you from the sidelines, but it's just as important to tune it out and focus on the win. It's no secret that we in this room are playing in someone else's house," she said, the audience cheering in agreement. "But it really doesn't matter. It just means that we have to tune out the BS to get these wins. It really is a team effort. It takes those of us who made it through the door to find new voices and pull them up behind us."
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