Rihanna delivers stirring speech as she accepts award for her philanthropy

Rihanna poses backstage with her President's Award. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok A
Rihanna poses backstage with her President's Award. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok A
Rihanna has delivered a moving speech calling for unity to “fix this world” while accepting the President’s Award from the NAACP Image Awards.

The singer and business mogul received the award for her philanthropic efforts through her nonprofit, the Clara Lionel Foundation.

The foundation, which she founded in 2012, helps fund global education and emergency response programmes.

Rihanna was humble as she accepted the award, saying the evening was “not really about me, because the purpose is bigger than me.”

“It’s not bigger than us together, but it’s bigger than me, because my part is a very small part of the work that is being done in this world and the work that is yet to be done,” she said.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that we can fix this world together. We can’t do it divided. I can’t emphasise that enough. We can’t let the de-sensitivity seep in.

“The ‘If it’s your problem, it’s not mine’, ‘It’s a woman’s problem’, ‘It’s a black people problem’, ‘It’s a poor people problem’ – how many of us in this room have colleagues and partners and friends from other races, sexes, religions? Show of hands? Well then, they want to break bread with you, right? They like you? Well then, this is their problem, too.

“So when we’re marching and protesting and posting about the Michael Brown Jrs and the Atatiana Jeffersons of the world, tell your friends to pull up.”

The NAACP Image Awards honour the outstanding achievements by people of colour in entertainment and literature.

The awards are presented by the US-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Other winners from the night included Lizzo, who won Entertainer of the Year, and Beyonce, who won a number of awards in the music categories.

Meanwhile, film Just Mercy and comedy series black-ish took out numerous movie and TV awards respectively.

Watch Rihanna’s full speech here:

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