Lady Gaga has urged fans to “unlearn” white supremacy in a powerful award acceptance speech at the Beloved Community awards.
Gaga was honoured with the Yolanda Denise King Higher Ground award off the back of her work both as an artist and as co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation.
The Born This Way Foundation works to support mental health and provide resources for people in marginalised groups, with a focus on the queer community.
Gaga was also commended for her work in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and her advocacy to ensure that personal protective equipment was provided to healthcare workers during the pandemic.
As reported by Entertainment Tonight, the Beloved Community Awards are organised by The King Centre to order to uphold the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
“I dedicate this award to Black, Brown and Indigenous people,” Gaga said in the acceptance speech.
She continued: “Triumphant people, whose resilience is the life force of every beloved community in this country. Black, Brown and Indigenous people continue to thrive in the midst of systemic oppression, thrive with radical joy, unapologetically creating full and beautiful lives despite the systems of white supremacy that are intended to keep them from doing so.”
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“White people, I believe we must right our wrongs without shame… We must change our actions and we must do this for ourselves.”
“Unlearning allows me to walk through the world differently,” she added. “Unlearning means I look for racialised social constructs in every part of my life — every day, all day.”
She concluded by saying that “justice can finally begin to be realized, at least in part, when and if folks who look like me commit to a lifetime of unlearning.”
Check out the full acceptance speech for the Higher Ground award from Lady Gaga:
