Marla Gibbs daughter Angela Gibbs gives a speech on behalf of her mother.
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00:00Marla!
00:02Stand up for Marla, please.
00:06Please.
00:09So in her absence, I'm here to bring up one of her three
00:16beautiful children.
00:18Give it up for Angela Gibbs.
00:22Come on, Angela.
00:30Okay, I didn't expect to feel this feeling.
00:45My mother loves you so much, and so do we.
00:49Thank you, Essence, for this wonderful afternoon.
00:51All right, here we go.
00:55So earlier, we acknowledged how fierce a Virgo is, but now I want to talk about a woman
01:02who was a boss that's a Gemini.
01:05Any Geminis in the house?
01:07Well, then y'all will understand this, because y'all are two people, okay?
01:13I want to talk about how I grew up with two mothers, one that didn't take no mess.
01:20She would beat my behind, and then the next minute say, now, baby, you want to go to the
01:24store with me or make a salad?
01:27Or she'd have us on our hands and knees scrubbing floors, give me a toothbrush, and have me
01:31scrubbing baseboards, and then make the best chocolate chip cookies you ever had.
01:37But you all have met both sides of her.
01:41You've met the fiery, feisty personality that brought Florence to us, and Mary, and so many
01:47memorable roles.
01:49She brought her own seat to the table when the cast of The Jefferson said they don't
01:55want us there.
01:56Come on over here.
01:57She said, no, I'm going to stay here.
01:59And she talked to Norman Lear and the writers, and she said, you know, black people don't
02:03talk like that.
02:05And they said, what?
02:07And they were too embarrassed to ask her to move from the table.
02:10And she gave them her feedback, and she helped create Florence, but she also created a new
02:16standard where all the actors were allowed to stay at the table and give notes.
02:23Okay?
02:27She fought for a husband, as they said, and a wholesome family on 227.
02:31Shout out, where are you, Hal Williams?
02:35She said, I will not be another single black woman on television.
02:41She fought for black writers, hair and makeup, and people that look like us.
02:46So she was just as fiery behind the scenes as she was in front of the camera.
02:52Then there's the sweet one, the one that made the cookies, that cares so deeply for the
02:59people in our community.
03:01She built institutions, the Jazz Club.
03:04Together we had Crossroads Theater, which 227 was a play originally and came out of.
03:10She knew that we are the gatekeepers of our stories, that we're the preservers of our
03:16culture.
03:17And she wanted to make sure that those institutions were in place to do just that.
03:22If she were here right now, oh, and one more thing I want to say.
03:28When you talk about the sweetness of my mother, it's always amazing to me, no matter how tired
03:32she is or what she's been through, she always stops for a picture.
03:38She'll always stop for a hug.
03:40She'll always stop to write an autograph.
03:44She cares so deeply for her fans and her colleagues.
03:48She has a saying that, because of you, I am.
03:54The feisty side of her really wanted to be here today.
03:58I deal with that side often.
04:00If she was here, she'd tell you she's vibrating on 30 because she's never heard a 30-year-old
04:05talk about what they can't do.
04:08She would tell you that we're all one.
04:11So to honor God and to please be kind to each other.
04:16She'd acknowledge all of today's phenomenal honorees.
04:21She would tell you, as long as you're breathing, you can achieve your dream.
04:26On behalf of my mother and our family, we want to thank Essence, and we want to thank
04:31all of you for your continued love and the flowers that you give her.
04:36It's beautiful to be honored by our own.
04:39I know she will cherish this award, and so will we.