Selome Hailu The heat wave in Los Angeles couldn’t get in the way of the church of Sheryl Lee Ralph. The “Abbott Elementary” actor was met with a standing ovation in Beverly Hills on Sunday at the Creative Coalition’s Television Humanitarian Awards Gala Luncheon, where she was an honoree.
Hosted by Variety‘s Marc Malkin, the ceremony was meant to celebrate a number of figures working in the TV industry who also devote their time to worthy social causes.
Ralph received the honor, presented to her by “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Reid Scott, for her work with DIVA (Divinely Inspired, Victoriously Anointed).
She began her acceptance speech with a powerful rendition of Dianne Reeves’ “Endangered Species: “I am an endangered species / But I sing no victim’s song / I am a woman I am an artist / And I know where my voice belongs.” “Forty years ago, America stood up and, in no uncertain terms, turned its face to the LGBTQIA+ community and said, ‘We hate you.
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