It was a night of firsts for black comedians at last night’s Emmy Awards held in Los Angeles.
Donald Glover from “Atlanta” became the first black person to win for directing a comedy series, while Lena Waithe from “Master of None” became the first black woman to win for comedy writing in the history of the Emmy Award. The Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, recognises excellence in the television industry and corresponds to the Oscar (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Award (for music).
Waithe won for co-writing the “Thanksgiving” episode of “Master of None” with series co-creator and star, Aziz Ansari. Waithe has also had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy. The episode was based on her experience of coming out as a lesbian, according to Variety. Full of emotion, Waithe called out the importance of diversity in entertainment and the culture at large in accepting the award. “The things that make us different — those are our superpowers,” she said.
She also made special mention of her “LGBTQIA family” and urged viewers who feel outside of the mainstream to don a superhero cape every day “And go out there and conquer the world. It would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.”
