“You Are Loved. Period!” Uzo Aduba gives rousing speech while receiving Ally for Equality Award, references Nigerian LGBT

Uzo Aduba was awarded the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award at the 2017 HRC National Dinner at the Washington Convention Center on Saturday evening (October 28) in Washington, DC. The award is given to those who “publicly stand up for the LGBTQ community, committing their time and energy to improve the lives of LGBTQ people and advance equality for all Americans.”

In her acceptance of the award, Aduba gave a really inspiring speech on stage, which was mostly a personal address she was giving to her cousin ‘Sam’ from Nigeria, a gay man who she wanted to know “is loved and is special”.

In her speech, she references the struggle of growing up as an LGBT individual in Nigeria.

She says: “It wasn’t easy growing up in the 80s … It really wasn’t easy coming into one’s sexual identity in Nigeria, a country and a culture I am proud to be a part of and love so dearly, but one that is still worlds away from offering the equality and acceptance that every citizen deserves.”

She went on to tell the story of her mother acting as the force for the acceptance of a gay cousin of hers, Chubi, in the family.

Check on her speech below.