Jesse Williams speech after receiving award.

[cole256 17,053]

Last night Jesse Williams delivered a powerful speech about what African Americans are facing today. It's a trending topic on every major social media outlet but I figured it wouldn't be on here unless I posted it so here it is. Contrary to what they will have you believe this movement isn't violent and it's full of educated people that are trying to change the world. But here's a transcript of his speech....

Honoree Jesse Williams accepts the Humanitarian Award onstage during the 2016 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

Kevin Winter/BET—Getty Images for BET

Honoree Jesse Williams accepts the Humanitarian Award onstage during the 2016 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

"Just because we're magic doesn't mean we're not real"

Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams was awarded BET’s Humanitarian Award on Sunday night. The outspoken human rights activist—who executive produced the recent documentary, Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement— delivered a powerful and political speech about the cause he’s worked so hard on.

Referencing recent victims of police brutality, Williams discussed the violence against black people and the struggles they’ve faced throughout history: “There has been no war that we have not fought and died on the front lines of. There has been no job we haven’t done. There is no tax they haven’t leveed against us,” he said.

The speech received a standing ovation by the audience, who went on to praise Williams on Twitter. A transcript of it has been published in multiple places, including The Washington Post and Bustle. Below, Genius‘s account of the speech:

Peace peace. Thank you, Debra. Thank you, BET. Thank you Nate Parker, Harry and Debbie Allen for participating in that .

Before we get into it, I just want to say I brought my parents out tonight. I just want to thank them for being here, for teaching me to focus on comprehension over career, and that they make sure I learn what the schools were afraid to teach us. And also thank my amazing wife for changing my life.

Now, this award – this is not for me. This is for the real organizers all over the country – the activists, the civil rights attorneys, the struggling parents, the families, the teachers, the students that are realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do.

It’s kind of basic mathematics – the more we learn about who we are and how we got here, the more we will mobilize.

Now, this is also in particular for the black women in particular who have spent their lifetimes dedicated to nurturing everyone before themselves. We can and will do better for you.

Now, what we’ve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to deescalate, disarm and not kill white people everyday. So what’s going to happen is we are going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure their function and ours.

Now… I got more y’all – yesterday would have been young Tamir Rice’s 14th birthday so I don’t want to hear anymore about how far we’ve come when paid public servants can pull a drive-by on 12 year old playing alone in the park in broad daylight, killing him on television and then going home to make a sandwich. Tell Rekia Boyd how it’s so much better than it is to live in 2012 than it is to live in 1612 or 1712. Tell that toEric Garner. Tell that to Sandra Bland. Tell that to Dorian Hunt.

Now the thing is, though, all of us in here getting money – that alone isn’t gonna stop this. Alright, now dedicating our lives, dedicating our lives to getting money just to give it right back for someone’s brand on our body when we spent centuries praying with brands on our bodies, and now we pray to get paid for brands on our bodies.

There has been no war that we have not fought and died on the front lines of. There has been no job we haven’t done. There is no tax they haven’t leveed against us – and we’ve paid all of them. But freedom is somehow always conditional here. “You’re free,” they keep telling us. But she would have been alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.

Now, freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but you know what, though, the hereafter is a hustle. We want it now.

And let’s get a couple things straight, just a little sidenote – the burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander.That’s not our job, alright – stop with all that. If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest, if you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.

We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, yo, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil – black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is though… the thing is that just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.

Thank you

[AURaptor 1,122]

What is anyone suppose to take from this ?

And let’s get a couple things straight, just a little sidenote – the burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander.That’s not our job, alright – stop with all that. If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest, if you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.

We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, yo, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil – black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is though… the thing is that just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.

Thank you

[cole256 17,053]

You? I expect nothing. Maybe something to blame the President about?

[AURaptor 1,122]

* corrected

[cole256 17,053]

Literally an entire nation took something away from this as far as you personally? You will still go around painting a picture that BLM is a mindless, violent group that's lawless and rioting throughout the nation. I imagine you'll continue with that

[AURaptor 1,122]

I "continue with that" because it's a fact. Now this little speech might've been relevant 50 or 60 years ago, but not in 2016. It's laughably out of date. And out of sync with reality.

[TheBlueVue 177]

"gentrifying our genius" WTF does that even mean?

[AURaptor 1,122]

"gentrifying our genius" WTF does that even mean?

Exactly. It's putting a Starbucks up where a crack house once stood.

Horrible!!!

Seriously, if there was a white actor who showed this much racism , hatred & lying, they'd never work again in Hollywood.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

Refusing to recognize the plight of African Americans is stupid or, racist, or both.

I would guess both. The absolute dismissal of a message that recognizes progress and yet, the fact that the struggle is far from over, is ignorant. Not surprising that those who typically promote ignorance in this forum have chosen to lead the parade.

You two idiots are a disgrace to this forum, Auburn, and humanity.

[cole256 17,053]

If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest, if you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.

[AURaptor 1,122]

Refusing to recognize the plight of African Americans is stupid or, racist, or both.

I would guess both. The absolute dismissal of a message that recognizes progress and yet, the fact that the struggle is far from over, is ignorant. Not surprising that those who typically promote ignorance in this forum have chosen to lead the parade.

You two idiots are a disgrace to this forum, Auburn, and humanity.

That is not what this coward, racist punk of an actor did. If you're too much of a coward to speak out against someone who lies and gushes hate like this clown did, then that's on you.

And no, I will not sit down. I do not have to answer from a sins of the past. Those are not my sins and I will not stand trial for them. Almost 3/4 of 1 million Americans died in a war, or did you forget about that ?

For you to point the finger at me is every bit as racist as the hatred that you claim you're against. Only that now you were doing it, and not someone else, who died 50 or hundreds of years ago.

[aujeff11 6,243]

"Almost 3/4 of 1 million Americans died in a war, or did you forget about that "

???? Umm what

[AURaptor 1,122]

"Almost 3/4 of 1 million Americans died in a war, or did you forget about that "

???? Umm what

War between the states, 1865? Ring a bell?

[aujeff11 6,243]

"Almost 3/4 of 1 million Americans died in a war, or did you forget about that "

???? Umm what

War between the states, 1865? Ring a bell?

You said "a war"...didn't clarify. So did the 3/4 of a million "die in a war" against de jure segregation but not de facto segregation?

[AURaptor 1,122]

Wtf ? Want to try that again ?

[triangletiger 1,599]

I think he's saying that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't wipe out racism.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I think he's saying that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't wipe out racism.

He's slow.

[cole256 17,053]

If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression

This racial actor is biracial I may add. His mom is white....

[AURaptor 1,122]

I think he's saying that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't wipe out racism.

He's slow.

When it comes to speaking moron, I'm not up to speed. Racism? Neither the Emancipation Proclamation nor the Civil War was supposed to end "racism". And that's not what this is all about either.

Point is, this angry actor had no point. Gentrification of our genius? Invented whiteness? What the hell is that supposed to mean, does anyone know?

[homersapien 11,369]

Refusing to recognize the plight of African Americans is stupid or, racist, or both.

I would guess both. The absolute dismissal of a message that recognizes progress and yet, the fact that the struggle is far from over, is ignorant. Not surprising that those who typically promote ignorance in this forum have chosen to lead the parade.

You two idiots are a disgrace to this forum, Auburn, and humanity.

Amen!

[homersapien 11,369]

I think he's saying that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't wipe out racism.

He's slow.

When it comes to speaking moron, I'm not up to speed. Racism? Neither the Emancipation Proclamation nor the Civil War was supposed to end "racism". And that's not what this is all about either.

Point is, this angry actor had no point. Gentrification of our genius? Invented whiteness? What the hell is that supposed to mean, does anyone know?

So, why did YOU bring it up?

[aujeff11 6,243]

I think he's saying that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't wipe out racism.

He's slow.

When it comes to speaking moron, I'm not up to speed. Racism? Neither the Emancipation Proclamation nor the Civil War was supposed to end "racism". And that's not what this is all about either.

Point is, this angry actor had no point. Gentrification of our genius? Invented whiteness? What the hell is that supposed to mean, does anyone know?

How are you not up to speed when you're a Trump moronican! Why did you vaguely bring up the civil war?

[AURaptor 1,122]

I brought up the most bloody of all wars this country ever fought to remind folks what has already been paid and lost because of a sin this country was burdened with, and tried, since before its birth , to correct.

I brought it up show some context to the so called ' oppression ' this clown and entitled idiot is whining about.

Still no one has answered any of my questions, and explained EXACTLY what his beef is with , anything.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

I brought up the most bloody of all wars this country ever fought to remind folks what has already been paid and lost because of a sin this country was burdened with, and tried, since before its birth , to correct.

I brought it up show some context to the so called ' oppression ' this clown and entitled idiot is whining about.

Still no one has answered any of my questions, and explained EXACTLY what his beef is with , anything.

"So called oppression"? Your idiocy has no limits. Your willingness to constantly display your idiocy is laughable yet somehow, frightening.

Again, you are a disgrace to this forum, Auburn, and humanity.

Black America has shown unbelievable restraint in the face of terrorism, segregation, institutionalized racism and sanctioned discrimination. Only the dumbest of racists would/could fail to recognize and acknowledge their plight and their contributions.

You are one of the most despicable people I have ever encountered.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I brought up the most bloody of all wars this country ever fought to remind folks what has already been paid and lost because of a sin this country was burdened with, and tried, since before its birth , to correct.

I brought it up show some context to the so called ' oppression ' this clown and entitled idiot is whining about.

Still no one has answered any of my questions, and explained EXACTLY what his beef is with , anything.

I'm not under any impression that the northerners died for the sole purpose of their black brethren's freedom.Even if that was the case, they paid the price for slavery, not for defacto segregation and de jure segregation. The northeners of 1865 didn't pay the price for the Jim Crow Laws, the KKK, or the civil rights movement a century later. They also didn't pay the price for subtle laws meant to help keep the white man's foot on the black man's neck such as stacking the minorities into one district in order to minimize their voice. Overt racism might be over but racism is not over.