Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis again reminded us of the power of her voice at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards held on Saturday, Feb 28.
Taking to the stage after receiving the Chairman’s Award, Davis delivered a powerful speech on growth and resilience while also reflecting on her early childhood, from poverty to global success.
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She began, “I always feel like I’m going to step into feeling like I deserve it.”
“Little chocolate girl with thick lips and a wide nose in Rhode Island in 1965. I didn’t see hope. I didn’t see dreams. I just wanted to be somebody. I wanted success because I thought it was significant. And no one can describe the journey of going from the little chocolate girl searching for hope and searching for God to the girl living a transcendent life.”
“That is a hero’s journey, and we have only to follow the thread of a hero’s path. And where we had thought we would find an abomination, we shall find a God. And where we thought that we could slay the other, we will slay ourselves. And where we had thought to journey outwards, we shall come to the center of our own existence.
“And where we had thought to be alone, we shall come to be with all the world,” Davis added.
There is no soul of a nation without the soul of its people. And the soul of its people is not just who is represented in the breathing and living people in this room, but also by all those who are no longer here. We either move forward together or not at all. There is no man behind the curtain who has control over your life.”
“Our crown has already been bought and paid for,” she said. “All we have to do is wear it.”
Watch the speech video below.