“It” begins at the 4 minute mark, but it’s worth it to watch the rest, for context, if you are not aware.
I’ve been a fan of Sheryl Lee Ralph ever since the Dreamgirls Broadway soundtrack album swept my college theatre department like a wildfire. We could not get past it. Nor did we want to.
But this … this speech is beyond anything I would even hope or try to describe. This is why she is a major force. There it is. It is the Divine speaking through her, and she knows it. She shares it. She connects us to it, through her.
Utterly and completely American. Not a criticism at all; the dreaming, the hoping, the striving, the lack of shame and apology, the total pride and belief in oneself are not generally qualities one finds down under.
Well, sure, I mean, she is an American. What is way more important and why I posted it is I love moments like these ( except there really are no other moments like these, because this song/speech is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before). But besides that, Sheryl Lee Ralph has been doing her thing – and brilliantly – for going on 50 years. 50 years. She elevates whatever project she’s involved in and has been doing it from the jump. This moment isn’t a culmination – this isn’t a Lifetime Achievement Award – but a long-overdue moment when everyone in a given room stops what they’re doing and says “Wait a second. Let’s acknowledge this woman.”
That’s what all of my writing is about. Let’s acknowledge these people who have given so much to us – and IF POSSIBLE – let’s do it while they’re alive.
Amen 🙏