Maren Morris took home female vocalist of the year at the CMA Awards on Wednesday night, and used her acceptance speech to make an important statement. After thanking a handful of people, the 30-year-old singer took a moment to pay tribute to all the incredible Black female artists in country music. "There are some names in my mind that I want to give recognition to because I'm just a fan of their music and they are as country as it gets, and I just want them all to know how much we love them back," she said before shouting out Linda Martell, Yola, Mickey Guyton [1], Rissi Palmer, Brittney Spencer, and Rhiannon Giddens.

She continued, "There are so many amazing Black women that pioneered and continue to pioneer this genre and I know they're going to come after me, they came before me, but you've made this genre so, so beautiful. I hope you know that we see you. Thank you for making me so inspired as a singer in this genre."