Challenging Meryl Streep for best speech of the season, Mahershala Ali delivered passionate words about his Muslim faith at Sundays Screen Actors Guild Awards . Winning for his performance in Moonlight , Ali spoke of the need to avoid persecuting those who are different, a timely topic given Donald Trump s recent executive order banning Muslims and Syrian refugees from entering America.
My mother is an ordained minister, Ali said. Im a Muslim. She didnt do backflips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now you put things to the side, and Im able to see her and shes able to see me. We love each other. The love has grown.
Watch Alis full speech below. You wont regret it.
#Moonlight star Mahershala Ali gives a tearful acceptance speech #SAGawards pic.twitter.com/L45DPQUbeD
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Ali","slug":"mahershala-ali","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mahershala-ali","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mahershala-ali","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mahershala-ali"},"department":{"name":"Voices","slug":"voices"},"section":{"title":"Black Voices","slug":"black-voices"},"topic":{"title":"Mahershala Ali","slug":"mahershala-ali","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/voices/topic/mahershala-ali"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">#Moonlight star Mahershala Ali gives a tearful acceptance speech #SAGawards pic.twitter.com/L45DPQUbeD
Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2017
Heres the full transcript:
I think what Ive learned from working on Moonlight is we see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves. And what I was so grateful about in having the opportunity to play Juan was playing a gentleman who saw a young man folding into himself as a result of the persecution of his community and taking that opportunity to uplift him and to tell him he mattered, that he was OK, and accept him. I hope that we do a better job of that.
We kind of get caught up in the minutia and the details that make us all different, I think theres two ways of seeing that. Theres an opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique, and then theres the opportunity to go to war about it, and to say that that person is different than me and I dont like you, so lets battle.
My mother is an ordained minister. Im a Muslim. She didnt do backflips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now you put things to the side, and Im able to see her and shes able to see me. We love each other. The love has grown. And that stuff is minutia. Its not that important.
Im going to thank Tarell Alvin McCraney for his courage. Im going to thank Barry Jenkins just for your insight, your brilliance and your direction, and just the collaboration, that opportunity, Ill always hold that close to me. I want to thank my fellow cast mates. Any one of those young men could be up here holding this, Im telling you. Its beautiful work. Plan B, A24, thank you. Peace and blessings be upon you.
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