Photo: Lesley Bohm

At the 49th Daytime Emmy Awards, Mishael Morgan made history by becoming the first black actress to win the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama series for her role as Amanda Sinclair on The Young and the Restless.

In her speech accepting her historic win, Morgan said, “I do not do anything in my life without first thanking God. I thank you so much…. This is epic. I want to thank my parents, my sisters, and my husband who I dragged out here [to L.A.] and who let me work and follow my dream. My agent, who met me years ago and believed in me at times when I didn’t believe me and myself. I am in shock,” she said before thanking the hard-working crews of daytime dramas and then delving into the significance of her win.

“I am so immensely proud of our generation. We are breaking glass ceilings left, right and center. I am so honored to be a vessel and to experience this moment, and it’s because of everybody who’s out there today proving to the world that we can and we will do this thing called equality and unity together. I was born on a tiny island, Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean, and now I’m standing on an international stage and I am being honored regardless of the color of my skin, regardless of my passport, for being the best at what I do. Now there are little girls all around the world and they’re seeing another step forward and they know that no matter their industry, no matter their vocation, no matter what, they can strive to be the best at what they do. Not only can they achieve it, but they will be celebrated.”

Going home and processing her historic win, the next morning she wrote on Instagram, “It wasn’t a dream! We did this. We all made this moment possible. I am so blessed to be living in a time, where this could be a part of my story. Let’s keep breaking those ceilings and changing the world – together.“

Congratulations, Mishael!