Janelle Monáe Accepts CFDA Fashion Icon Award, “None of Us Are Free Until All of Us Are Free” (Video)

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Janelle Monae can add another award to her resume after receiving the CFDA Fashion Icon Award, joining the ranks of Rihanna, Beyoncé, Pharrell, and Lady Gaga. Monae has set her own path, and shows no signs of slowing down. 

 

Janelle Monae attends the CFDA Fashion Awards at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Monday, June 5, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

 

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards are often considered the “Oscars of fashion,” and with past winners mentioned above, there’s no doubt it earned the nickname.

In her acceptance speech, Monae took the time to not only address the audience, but speak from her heart on issues important to her. 

“As human beings, it is going to be our responsibility to take care of one another,” she stated in the video seen below. “Women’s rights are human rights. LGBTQ rights are human rights… So as human beings let’s never forget that none of us are free until all of us are free.”

“We’re all here, and we’re artists,” she continued. “I never wanted to be a politician because artists get to be honest,” she admitted. “We get to tell it like it is through our work… Let’s continue to speak out against the sexism, the racism, the homophobia, the Islamophobia, and all those things that are constantly trying to divide us. In these moments of turmoil… we must choose freedom over fear.

And at Monday night’s awards ceremony she told PeopleStyle that being honored for her fashion is “the best,” adding that she gives all credit to her family’s influence. “For me my fashion and my style is connected to my philanthropy and my community,” she told PeopleStyle.

“I honor my working class family through it. And I try to speak for those who are often times marginalized and left out of the conversation. o when you see me in my fashion it’s more than likely because I’m working and I’m really trying to do all I can to speak for those who are disenfranchised so I’m so honored to be here and to share this night with [Board of Directors Tributes] Cecile Richards and Gloria Steinem; they’re my heroes.”