As the first black actress to win best actress in a drama series, Viola Davis took her win (for How to Get Away With Murder) with all the historical weight it deserved. Her acceptance speech began by quoting Harriet Tubman and ended with an elegant insistence on the need for more diverse opportunities and a recognition of the women who had worked alongside her:
"'In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields, and lovely flowers, and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can't seem to get there no how. I can't seem to get over that line.' That was Harriet Tubman in the 1800s.
"And let me tell you something. The only thing that separates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. So here's to all the writers, the awesome people . . . Shonda Rhimes. People who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman. To be black. And to the Taraji P. Hensons, the Kerry Washingtons, the Halle Berrys, the Nicole Beharies, the Meagan Goods. To Gabrielle Union. Thank you for taking us over that line."