Last night, Janelle Monáe was honored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Board of Directors alongside Gloria Steinem and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards for her work at this year's Women's March. The multitalented entertainer performed for the historic crowd in Washington, D.C.
During her speech, Monáe talked about the statement she's made with with her fashion.
"My relationship with fashion...began with my music, as a way of paying homage to my working-class family," she said. "As a kid, I had to get very creative, because my parents could not afford the latest fashions. My mother was a janitor, my father was a trash collector and my stepfather worked at the post office, and they worked really hard to provide for my sister and me."
"They wore those uniforms proudly," she continued. "They helped build this country and they served their community with such great pride. And I stand here, in my black and white, giving honor to them."
"I think about that historic moment at the Women's March, and I was scared," she said. "When you have thousands of people looking at you like, 'Yeah, give us something,' it's a scary feeling. But when I think about that march on Washington, I'm reminded of all the faces I saw from different walks of life. Young, old, gay, straight, different religious backgrounds, it didn't matter, they were together as human beings. And that's the one thing that left with me. I'm reminded that as human beings, it's our responsibility to take care of one another."
"Women's rights are human rights. LGBTQ rights are human rights. Poor folks' rights are human rights. Immigrant rights are human rights. Minority rights are human rights. So as human beings, let's never forget that none of us are free until all of us are free."
"Women's rights are human rights. LGBTQ rights are human rights. Immigrants' rights are human rights." 🎉@JanelleMonae 2020 🎉 pic.twitter.com/BWYUk9H7TN— Maeve McDermott (@maeve_mcdermott) June 6, 2017