Regina King

“It has been quite a year. And we are still smack dab in the middle of it,” said King as she kicked off the 93rd Oscars with a strut through Union Station to the socially distant stage. “We are mourning the loss of so many, and if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis? I might have traded in my heels for marching boots.

“I know that a lot of you at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you, but as the mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with and no amount of fame or fortune changes that.”

Daniel Kaluuya

… on his mother
“You gave me everything. You gave me your factory settings, so I can stand at my fullest height.”

… on Fred Hampton, the activist he played in Judas and the Black Messiah, who was killed by the FBI at 21 in 1969.
“What a man. How blessed we are to live in a lifetime when he existed, you know what I’m saying? Thank you for your light. He was on this earth for 21 years. Twenty-one years, and he found a way to feed kids breakfast, educate kids, give free medical care, against all the odds. He showed me, he taught me.” The Black Panther party … “they showed me how to love myself, and with that love they overflowed to the black community and to other communities. And they showed us the power of union, the power of unity. When they play divide and conquer, we say unite and ascend. Thank you so much, for showing me myself.”

… on unity, activism, and future plans
“This ain’t no single man job,” he added. “Every single one of you, we’ve got work to do. And I’m gonna get back to work Tuesday morning, because tonight I’m goin’ up.”

Here's Daniel Kaluuya's mom and sister reacting to him saying "My mom and my dad...they had sex. It's amazing! I'm here!" at the end of his Oscar speech pic.twitter.com/4nLZxY0Jwc

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) April 26, 2021

... on … celebrating life?
“We’re breathing, we’re walking, it’s incredible. It’s incredible! My mum met my dad, they had sex. It’s amazing! Dya’know what I’m saying? I’m here! [His sister, watching from London, buries her face in her hands.] I’m so happy to be alive, so I’m going to celebrate that tonight.”

… and backstage, on his mother’s reaction to the above comment
“I’m going to have to avoid my phone for a bit. I think my mum’s not going to be very happy. But she’s going to be cool.”

Chloé Zhao on people’s inherent goodness

“People at birth are entirely good,” she said while accepting the award for best director, the first woman of colour to do so. “I still truly believe [that] even if it might seem the opposite.

“This is for anyone who has the faith and courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves and in each other. This is for you; you inspire me to keep going.”

Frances McDormand

“Please watch our movie on the largest screen possible, and one day very very soon, take everyone you know into a theater,” the best actress winner said on stage with the cast for the night’s best picture, Nomadland.

Emerald Fennell

… on her young son, who arrived “two weeks after shooting” Promising Young Woman
“Thank God. I was crossing my legs.”

Travon Free on police killings in America

“Today the police will kill three people and tomorrow the police will kill three people and the day after the police will kill three people because on average the police in America every day kill three people a day, which amounts to about a thousand people per year,” said Free, accepting the Oscar for best live action short for Two Distant Strangers.

“And those people happen to be disproportionately black people. And James Baldwin once said the most despicable thing a person could be is indifferent to another person’s pain. So I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don’t be indifferent to our pain.”

Youn Yuh-Jung

… on her famous presenter
“Mr Brad Pitt, finally. Nice to meet you!” said Youn, 73, to the actor who presented her win for best supporting actress in Minari.

… to those who have mispronounced her name
“Tonight, you are all forgiven.”

Olivia Colman on Anthony Hopkins (on the red carpet)

“He should be in bed – he’s 83.”