Janelle Monáe, Yara Shahidi and the sisterhood of black women shine ahead of Oscars weekend

BEVERLY HILLS — If there were ever a time to believe in magic, the 10th anniversary of the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards was it.

The annual gala left the Beverly Wilshire Hotel glinting in black girl magic as luminaries gathered together to pay tribute to this year’s honorees: breakthrough award winner Janelle Monaé, vanguard award winner and Insecure creator Issa Rae, Lincoln shining star award winner and Birth of a Nation darling Aja Naomi King and generation next award winner and Black-ish star Yara Shahidi.

For guests, the night was an opportunity to revel in the bonds of friendship.

“It feels good,” host Gabrielle Union said on the red carpet. “I mean, if I had to leave just after the carpet and I’ve seen so many of my girls that I love, that I’ve literally grown up with, my night would be made. But the fact that I get to come back and host, you know after you know receiving the fierce and fearless award four years ago that completely changed my life, it’s an honor.”

“This is the moment where we are rejuvenated,” Orange is the New Black actress Danielle Brooks added. “And we all need that because what we do for a living is giving of ourselves and this is just a moment for our sisters really to refuel us.”

Much of that refueling came in the form of endless praise for one another.

“I have to acknowledge them and their beautiful work because they have not only shown us their art but their hearts,” King said of her fellow honorees while accepting her award. “Thank you, Janelle, for sharing with us the depth of your soul and thank you, Issa, for giving us insight into the scope of all our experiences and thank you, Yara, for your beautiful battle cry. It’s a joy to watch you as you make your voice and presence known.”

King admitted she initially shied away from owning her presence in the spotlight, but said the network of black women in Hollywood helped reinforce her sense of belonging.

“I have everything I need because … I have all of you."

Monaé echoed King, saying, “It always feels like a huge honor to be recognized and affirmed and acknowledged by your first tribe, my first tribe: black women.”

The Moonlight star went on to shine a light on the issue of representation — and how films like Moonlight and Hidden Figures are helping expand how black people are depicted on-screen.

The characters she embodies in the Oscar best-picture nominees came from two different worlds, she said, but that is precisely the point: “We’re not monolithic. We’re multidimensional and we have a right to have our stories told.”

And seeing entertainers amplify and validate those experiences off-screen is just as vital as seeing them reflect them on-screen, Tracee Ellis Ross pointed out while presenting Yara's award.

"Your presence on television symbolizes so much for young girls and your presence off-screen informs so much more," Ross said of the 17-year-old, who runs a mentoring group in NYC called Yara's Club and participated in the Women's March.

But, as Yara said, she is simply mirroring the example set by her sisters.

“I’m fortunate,” she said to the crowd, “because you all have taught me by example what the role of the artist is: to disrupt, to remold and to create."