It’s been a long time coming, but the incredible Viola Davis has finally walked away with an Oscar, thanks to her critically acclaimed performance in Fences.

This means that the Best Supporting Actress winner, who has been snubbed at the Academy Awards in the past, is the first black actor to ever win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony for his or her acting skills – and the magnitude of the moment was clearly not lost on Davis, a vocal proponent of diversity on the big screen.

“You know, there is one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard,” she said, as she collected her much-deserved gong.

“People ask me all the time — what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.”

Viola Davis’ empowering speech completely stole the show at the 2017 Oscars