Kevin D. Kinsey

Octavia Spencer won best supporting actress for her role as Minnie in ‘The Help’

*The 2012 Golden Globes were given out Sunday night in Hollywood. Among the many winners were Octavia Spencer, Idris Elba and Morgan Freeman.

Spencer won best supporting actress for her role as a brassy housekeeper joining other black maids to share stories about life with their white employers in the 1960s Deep South tale “The Help.”

“With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best: ‘All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.’ And I thank you for recognizing that with our film,” Spencer said.

Idris Elba of “Luther” won the Golden Globe award for actor in a series, miniseries or motion picture made for television.

Morgan Freeman, awarded this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, is well aware of how influential movies and the film industry can be on its audiences.

“One of the more effective avenues for learning American history is movies. I was always a big reader when I was a kid, but movies -– they’re so impactive,” Freeman told reporters backstage at the Globes on Sunday.

Since Meryl Streep won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for her turn as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” that means Viola Davis didn’t win for her lead role as Aibileen in “The Help.” That could portend things to come for Davis as some see the Globes as a key step to winning an Oscar.