Danny Glover Talks Race, Labor Rights in NAACP Image Awards Acceptance Speech

Danny Glover accepted the President’s Award at the 49th NAACP Image Awards on Monday night. The actor, who has spent decades involved with community and labor activism, advocating for economic justice and education, was honored for his work in film and TV. 

Accepting his award on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Glover took time to honor the late civil rights leader, as well as fellow award recipient and activist William Lucy. “I am honored to accept this award, but it means a lot to me to share this night and honors with my friend William Lucy,” he said in his acceptance speech.

Glover also brought attention to labor rights and his work fighting for workers’ rights. “Labor rights are civil rights,” he said during his acceptance speech. 

The actor, whose work spans nearly five decades, said he’s “fortunate to be able to continue to work” in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Whatever my activity as a citizen working with unions or other work, I’m still an actor, and I love acting as much as I loved it from the first moment I decided it was the profession I wanted to be in,” he said.

In his speech Monday night, Glover pointed to automobile factory workers in places like Ohio and Tennessee, saying, “People of African descent represent a distinct group whose human rights must be protected and honored.” 

Finally, Glover thanked his wife, Eliane Cavalleiro, in Portuguese. 

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