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Rae feels ‘validated’ by Essence award

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press
Published: February 26, 2017, 5:17am

When Issa Rae watched Oprah Winfrey being honored at Essence magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards last year, the actress hoped she would one day be recognized in the same fashion. But she didn’t think it would come this soon.

Rae, Janelle Monae, Aja Naomi King and Yara Shahidi were honored Thursday in Los Angeles at the magazine’s 10th annual awards. Past honorees include Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis, Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer.

“I used to say, ‘It would be so cool to be up there,’ but I didn’t imagine it now,” Rae, creator and star of HBO’s “Insecure,” said. “I was thinking maybe after a couple more films, a couple TV shows under my belt. … That’s really what I thought. It’s just so encouraging to be awarded so early in my career. But that’s what Essence does. It gets behind and supports black women. Now I feel like I can be on that journey.”

This year’s awards recognize “Hollywood’s Next Generation.”

Singer-actress Monae starred in two films up for best picture at the Oscars, “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.” King is featured on television’s “How to Get Away With Murder” and Shahidi appears on the sitcom “black-ish.”

“These women are making their own waves,” said Vanessa K. De Luca, editor-in-chief at Essence.

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