Taraji P. Henson Spoke About The Need For Unity In A Rousing Award Show Speech

This article originally appeared on Hello Giggles. 

In a bold and rousing moment at last night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards (May 7th), Taraji P. Henson delivered a passionate speech about the need for unity, and we can’t stop applauding her.

This year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards were different than pervious years. Not only were all the categories for movies and TV shows blended together, but the award show dropped the male and female categories, too, going gender neutral. The show also underwent some other changes, including the decision to drop the Best Fight category in favor for Best Fight Against the System category, in a new woke shake up. 

Well, picking up the inaugural Best Fight Against the System Award was the movie Hidden Figures, and the movie’s star Taraji P. Henson accepted the gong on behalf of the rest of the cast and crew.

The actor was presented the award by Blackish star Tracee Ellis Ross and IRL hero Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who introduced the nominees by nothing that each movie “pushes back against the bullies, and uses their platform to inspire us all.”

Accepting the award, Henson said that while making Hidden Figures everyone involved in the project was aware that the movie was bigger than them.

“We understood that this is a part of history that needed to be re-implemented into the blood and veins of American history. For me, it was very important because I grew up with an understanding—no one ever told me that girls couldn’t do math and science, but there was an understanding. There was an understanding that it was for boys,” she said. “I remember getting this script and being very upset, because it felt like a dream was stolen from me. And it became my mission, and everyone’s mission who was involved with this film, to dispel that myth, so that another young girl would not grow up thinking that her mind wasn’t capable of grasping math and science. If it were not for these women, we wouldn’t be in space.”