Kerry Washington was presented with the Vanguard Award at the 26th annual GLAAD Media Awards. The Vanguard Award is presented to an individual in the media who has made it a priority to promote equality.
Washington’s speech indicated how genuinely she advocates for equality, as she passionately spoke about the need for all groups facing various types of adversity, from racism, to sexism, to exclusivity, to come together in their fights for equal rights and fair treatment in the world: “Women, poor people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans people, intersex people: we have been pitted against each other and made to feel like there are limited seats at the table for those of us who fall into the category of ‘other”. Washington addressed the need for these groups that have been considered the “other” in society to ban together to demonstrate that despite history depicting them as outliers or misfits in the world, they have just as much a right as any other human being to be treated and respected as such. The Scandal actress continued to speak to the responsibility of all humans to establish unity and camaraderie, and that our current neglect to do so, ultimately puts the future dynamics of the world, how future generations will understand acceptance and equality, at risk: “as long as anyone, anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake and we are all vulnerable”. Washington’s speech is beyond inspiring, in that it recognizes similarities within groups in society that have been made to feel different for so long.
The establishment of actual equality in the world is long overdue and the longer people wait to come together and support everyone’s right to be considered equal, the more the meaning and value of acceptance begins to deteriorate in society. I commend Washington’s urging of people that the time to unite and create equal societies all over the world is now.