“Through this hard year, working from home, the social justice movement that started in America and swept the world, I’m really proud of black women … who have led the charge,” he said.

Former NFL player Wade Davis thanked founder Emil Wilbekin for a platform that “allows us to learn the whole truth and then stand in that truth.”

Also honored at the virtual event were Lee Daniels, Billy Porter, Rashad Robinson and André De Shields, and Dyllón Burnside performed his single “Silence.”