Sheryl! Lee! Ralph!

Just a little music to start your day.

It’s been years since I sat down and watched an awards show, but at Monday’s Emmys (I know, I know, I’m late but Other Stuff Happened), Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays the preternatural wise Barbara Howard on the ultra-charming “Abbott Elementary,” sang her acceptance speech (“Endangered Species,” and you can listen to Dianne Reeves sing that here) as she clutched her best supporting actress statue.

If you haven’t watched it, “Abbott” is an ensemble mockumentary (think “Parks and Recreation”) about teachers struggling to teach in a Philadelphia school, and there are plenty of good performances to choose from if someone wants to hand out awards. (I get simple watching Janelle James as the vapid principal.)

But Ms. Ralph commands every scene she’s in. She is a Tony-nominated Broadway veteran and has labored in the fields for decades and this is just a very cool thing to happen.

Let’s let Ms. Ralph take us out:

To any one who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like. And don’t you ever, EVER give up on you.