Keke noted that questioning those very topics is something she has done since a young age.

“I always questioned the boxes I was forced to be in and it starts with who you’re supposed to be as a child,” she recalled. “You’re supposed to be as a Black person or whatever the background you are from. Then those walls just try to cave you in from every damn angle, who you are as a creative, who you are as a friend.”

Addressing those in the room at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Keke noted, “I’m so grateful to be here today to be embraced by a community that I’ve always felt accepted by and a part of.” 

Following the event, Keke took to her Instagram with a few photos from the night, including two of herself and Queer Eye star Karamo Brown, who presented her with the award. Keke paired the carousel of images with further reflection on the honor. 

“It was such a gift to be in a room, being celebrated for being exactly who I am,” Keke wrote under her April 23 post. “I am so grateful you guys to be living in this time, where yes there is still so much work to do, but dammit we doing it!”