SAY THEIR NAMES

Niecy Nash Names Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor in Powerful Emmys Speech

Nash accepted her first Emmy “on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed.”

As Niecy Nash approached the stage on Sunday night to accept her first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, you could instantly tell she was fired up. The actress, who won the award for her performance as Glenda Cleveland in Netflix’s Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, launched straight into a powerful speech with an even more powerful dedication that included Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor.

“I’m a winner, baby!” Nash called out. “Thank you to the most high for this divine moment.”

Nash began by thanking all the expected suspects—showrunner Ryan Murphy, her co-star, Evan Peters, Netflix, and “every single person who voted for me.” Peters played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the series, while Nash played Cleveland—the neighbor who repeatedly tried to warn police about his crimes but went repeatedly ignored.

Then, the speech got more personal as she expressed her gratitude for her wife, Jessica Betts—“my better half, who picked me up when I was gutted from this work... And you know who else I want to thank? I want to thank me for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do. And I want to say to myself, in front of all you beautiful people, go on girl with your bad self. You did that!”

Then, Nash made her final, most important dedication: “I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed—like Glenda Cleveland. Like Sandra Bland. Like Breonna Taylor.”

Sandra Bland’s family received a $1.9 million settlement after she was found dead in a Texas jail cell in 2015, three days after being stopped for failing to signal while switching lanes in her car. In 2020, Kentucky police shot and killed Breonna Taylor in a no-knock raid. Both cases are famous, often-cited examples of how police disproportionately (and often fatally) over-police Black Americans.

“As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power,” Nash said at the close of her speech on Sunday, “and baby I’m gonna do it until the day I die.”

Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

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