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Rita Moreno recently received the Stanley Kramer Award during the 33rd Producers Guild of America Awards. According to the trade association representing television producers, film producers, and New Media producers in the United States, the Stanley Kramer Award “honors a production, producer, or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.”
During Moreno’s acceptance speech, the 90-year-old EGOT winner recalled the time she witnessed live when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington. Moreno said Harry Belafonte invited her.
“I am not a person of religious faith, but for me, film has often been a sacred text that has spurred me to follow what [Abraham Lincoln] called, the better angels of our nature,” she began her acceptance speech.
“In 1963, as I sat on Abraham Lincoln’s steps, only a few feet from Dr. King. I was there. I was there,” Moreno recounted. “I heard his best friend who was sitting next to him, Mahalia Jackson, cry out to him — this is the truth — ‘Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.’ Because he had started a different speech, and she wanted people to hear about the dream. And thanks to an invitation from Harry Belafonte, I was there to hear the preacher’s dream.”
Known as the first Latina actress to win an Oscar, and to date, the only one with an Academy Award, the 1961’s West Side Story star recognized filmmakers who “keep on preaching and never stop advocating for matters of equity and justice.”
“It is so meaningful to me and so gratifying to receive this extraordinary recognition and to be associated with his legacy,” she said. “I am 90 now, and working for a lifetime in this business has taken tenacity and hard work. Advocating for issues of social justice for the last 60 years it’s been exhausting, exhilarating, and life-giving. Had it not been for those steps and the fire set inside me as a young woman, I certainly would not be here tonight receiving this wondrous honor.”
Adding, “And let me add that working alongside Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner in the production of West Side Story, telling the immigrant story. The immigrant story. That integrity, fleshing out of characters, and respecting ethnicities put logs on this fire that was inside me.”
“We are in the throes of yet another awards season, and some in our tribe have been known to use a spotlight to advocate for issues addressed in their nominated works: climate change, universal healthcare, voting rights, and LGBTQ advocacy, and many, many others. And I know that for some in the audience, and that in some audiences, has been known to create, how shall I say? A mild discomfort. For others, heart palpitations,” she said. “After all, who do these actors, these Hollywood types, think they are? Citizens in a democracy? Well, f— them.”
Moreno noted the importance of freedom and mentioned Ukraine’s heartbreaking situation. “Freedom of speech belongs to all of us. Actors, and let’s not forget, comedians are patriots, too. Just look in the direction of Mr. [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy in Ukraine. I am honored, again. I thank you, and I promise that I’ll be more charming on another occasion,” Moreno concluded.
Jessica Chastain presented Rita with the award and shared a first encounter story. “I’ve been obsessed with you, Rita, and your accomplishments. Rita does what Rita feels,” the actress said.
“I think it was about a decade ago, you reminded me that the first time we met, you yelled across a crowded restaurant at me, ‘I love your breasts!’” she said. “That’s a true story, everybody. So, Rita, I love your breast too. You’re a role model to those who follow in your footsteps. You’ve been a guiding light in an industry that, at times, can seem quite dark. And I just want to say how much I love your breasts tonight — I mean, your dress,” she joked.