Mickey Guyton is no stranger to delivering emotionally resonant and powerful words, often referencing her personal experiences and social issues through music. While accepting Variety‘s Power of Women: Nashville award on Thursday morning, Guyton was the one in tears as she delivered an impassioned speech about Black women and minorities in music.
Taking the stage following an introduction from American rapper and singer Breland, Guyton appeared emotional, noting she wasn’t sure how to react when “receiving love like this.” The Texas native persisted through her cries, and went on to say, “This honor is not just for me. It is for every black woman who wakes up each day and chooses strength over resilience and silence, purpose over fear, community over competition.
It is for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, for those who came before us and for those still to come, Black women are the blueprint… We are visionaries, the culture shapers, the barrier breakers. We are not just resilient. We are raging despite the weight of generational burdens and systemic challenges. We continue to rise lead nurture and transform.”
Guyton was one of four honorees and cover stars for Variety’s inaugural Power of Women event in Nashville. Following Variety‘s Power of Women celebrations in Los Angeles and New York, each Nashville honoree highlighted a charity of their choosing, to which Variety made a donation as part of the event.
Guyton chose to uplift the Loveland Foundation, which focuses on bringing opportunity and healing to communities of color, especially to Black women and non-binary individuals.
“Empowerment is more than a word,” she said. “It is an act, and the Loveland Foundation embodies every meaning of the phrase… It emerged from a successful birth, security for black women influenced women and boys.”
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