Jesse Williams was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award at the BET and he gave an impassioned speech that moved the crowd and the world alike.

The Grey’s Anatomy star thanked his parents for coming to the ceremony and his wife before dedicating the award to activists, teachers and others who worked to show “that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do.”

He also spoke up about the inequality in how police responded to white individuals versus black individuals and how they would “have equal rights and justice in our own country. We will restructure their function and ours.”

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The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he responded that he wasn’t finished. He mentioned Tamir Rice and Sandra Bland among others who had died after police confrontations.

In addition to his moving speech, he also brought up how freedom was just “coming in the hereafter” and it should be available now. Williams also pointed out that anyone who wasn’t devoted to the cause in helping black people gain equality should just “sit down.”


Video thanks to the New York Daily News via BET