Viola Davis became the first African-American woman to win the Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmys last night, for her role in ABC's *How To Get Away With Murder.
Thanking her fellow black actresses for persevering when roles are "simply not there" for them, Scandal star Kerry Washington and Empire's Taraji P Henson were visibly moved by Viola's words.* *
Davis quoted African-American abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman in her speech (she is working on a biopic on her life for HBO).
“In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers, and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line. But I can’t seem to get there no-how. I can’t seem to get over that line.”
She added: “"The only thing that separates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity".
"You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there," she said, thanking Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson for "taking us over that line".
Watch her speech below:
Other stars accepting awards included Uzo Aduba, for her work on Orange Is The New Black and the cast of Game of Thrones, who took home a host of awards.
You can watch How To Get Away With Murder Season 2, Wednesday 28 October, 9pm first and exclusive on Universal Channel.