28 Nov PEOPLE: Queen Latifah on Embracing Her ‘Honest and Genuine’ Identity and Celebrating the ‘Freedom to Be Me’ – From The Grio Awards

Queen Latifah is sharing the wisdom of her experience finding self-acceptance.

The actress, in an acceptance speech at at the inaugural TheGrio Awards in Beverly Hills, opened up about how her sense of identity has evolved over the years.

“It all starts with the family for me,” Latifah, 52, shared with the audience at the of the ceremony celebrating icons, leaders and legends who have impacted Black community and culture. “My parents raised me with the idea that Black is beautiful. Black is beautiful, Black is beautiful. Black is OK.”

She continued, “You start saying it enough and you start believing me. And so I didn’t realize at the time that what they were preparing me for was a whole world.”