Viola Davis took home the Emmy for lead actress in a drama series for her performance in How to Get Away With Murder at Sunday night's ceremony, making her the first black actress to win the award. The honor marks Davis' first Emmy nomination and win.
In her speech, Davis expressed that writers have the power to create roles for actresses of color in Hollywood. She praised her How to Get Away With Murder showrunner Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes for creating such opportunities in their shows.
"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," added Davis. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. Here's to all the writers. The awesome people that are Ben Sherwood, Paul Lee, Pete Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes. People who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black."
