The 10th Anniversary of Black Girl Rock Awards premiered last night on BET and it was another amazing show celebrating the beauty, talent, and accomplishments of black women. There was so many great performances and speeches that literally moved me to tears of joy.
Every year my daughter and I gather in our living room to watch the annual show and have our own Q&A, and conversations about it. What was special about this year is that my daughter is now of age where she can see and identify with the faces of the audience, the artists that she listens to and become aware and inspired by young black girls in her age group like Maya Penn, and Marley Dias, that are doing remarkable deeds in this world.
Article Read: Marley Dias #1000Black Girl Books Is Changing The Way Our Girls Think About Themselves
Article Read: Meet Young Entrepeneur, Cartoonist, Activist, & Designer, Maya Penn
Tracee Ellis Ross was a delightful hostess . ringing her spice of humor, the actress paid homage to Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Rihanna, Beyonce, and her mother Diana Ross, in her intro performance.
Jasmine Sullivan ‘Masterpiece’ performance was phenomenal and brought the audience to their feet, as did Andra Day with her hit song ‘Rise Up’ , Marsha Ambrosius, Gladys Knight, Brandy, and Monica. I was so happy to see Corinne Bailey return to the stage, along with Imani Zuri. Gladys Knight serenaded us with her hit songs ‘ Love Overboard’, ‘Georgia’ , The incomparable Lauryn Hill who closed the show with her live rendition of her classic ‘Lost Ones’ & ‘Doo Wop’ record.
Below is some of my favorite quotes of the night.
Danai Gurira [Shot Caller Award]
‘Every Black Girl Needs A Black Girl Fairy God Mother ‘
Amanda Steinberg [Young Gifted & BlackAward]
‘ I Remember Looking In The Mirror When I Was A Little Girl And Saying, Look At All That Hair, And Being Like, Why Is That There! I Wanted It Go Down So Much. I Remember Suppressing It, And Brushing It, And Being So Frustrated That I Was So Big & Bold, I Felt Like I Took Up So Much Space’.
Nia Long [Actress]
‘Sisterhood Is The Cornerstone To Understanding One Another’
Rhianna [Rock Star Award]:
‘ The Minute You Love Yourself, You Would Not Want To Be Anyone Else. All Girls Rock, Black Girls We’re Just On Another Level’
Gladys Knight, [Living Legend Award]
‘I Had So Many Opportunities to Be Bigger Than I Was, If I Would Do Certain Things, Sleep With This One, Go With That One, But I Knew It Wasn’t A Good Thing, Didn’t Because When You Respect Yourself, You Learn How To Respect Others, And I Think That Carried Me Further Than My Music ‘
Black Lives Matter founders, Alicia Gara, Opal Tometic [Change Agent Award]
‘We Who Believe In Freedom, Will Not Rest Until It Comes ‘
Hillary Clinton said:
‘ When Black Women Rock, The World Rocks! ‘
Shonda Rhimes [Shot Caller Award]:
‘ You Are The Builders Of The 21st Century, You Have A Right To The Universe, You Were Given That Right, When You Were Born, So You Already Rock ‘
Black Girls Rock founder, Beverly Bond says
‘Own Your Magic, Walk In Your Purpose, And Rock Your Truth ‘.
For more feeds of the red carpet and performances clip, head over to BET .
Every black woman gonna be walkin into work tomorrow like…Thank u #BlackGirlsRock!! We are magic! ✨ pic.twitter.com/rSvSuiTX2l
— Julee A. Wilson (@MissJulee) April 6, 2016
One Love PLUMS!