BET Networks and Beverly Bond, CEO, Founder and Creator of "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™"are excited to announce this year's BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™ Awards taping
on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's
Prudential Hall in Newark, NJ. The broadcast will premiere on Sunday,
August 20, 2017 at 8:00 P.M. ET/PT on BET.
The 2017 BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™ celebrants are "Insecure" creator, actress, writer
and producer Issa Rae (Star Power Award), actress and activist Yara
Shahidi (Young Gifted and Black Award), GRAMMY Award-winning
songstress Roberta Flack (Living Legend Award), Wall Street
powerhouse and pioneer Suzanne Shank (Shot Caller Award) and
Community organizers Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson of
The Black & Missing Foundation (Community Change Agent Award). Created
by celebrity DJ and women's empowerment advocate Beverly Bond, the 2017 "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" Awards honors the groundbreaking
achievements of Black women who have fearlessly broken barriers in the
areas of art, business, entertainment and community service.
The dynamic, three – time NAACP Award winning "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" on BET, celebrates women throughout the
diaspora by shining a light on the accomplishments and successes of
influential Black women and girls in a night honoring their beauty,
brilliance and everlasting resilience.
"The BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™ Awards continues to be instrumental
in propelling Black girl pride across the diaspora. Every year we are
able to honor a cross section of dynamic women who represent a range of
industries, genres and generations. This year's cohort of honorees is
another incredible example of Black women's unparalleled contributions
to the world. BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!TM
on BET has become an annual culmination of Black girl preeminence and is
a beautiful salute to our glory." says Beverly Bond, BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™ CEO, Founder and Creator.
BET Networks CEO and chairman, Debra Lee added, "Celebrating the
incredible accomplishments of these outstanding women and girls is the
highlight of my year. Black women are continuing to lead in amazing ways
across a multitude of platforms and I am so proud that BET Networks has
the opportunity to honor them and show the world why "Black Girls Rock"!
Every year this show goes higher to showcase the beauty, talent,
intelligence and sisterhood among African American women. This year
won't be any different."
The "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" 2016 celebrants included: GRAMMY Award
winning recording artist Rihanna (Rock Star Award), ShondaLand
producer and television writer Shonda Rhimes (Shot Caller Award), The
Walking Dead actress and Eclipsed playwright Danai Gurira
(Star Power Award), social activist, actress and musician Amandla
Stenberg (Young, Gifted and Black) and Black Lives Matter founders Patrisse
Cullors, Opal Tometi and Alicia Garza (Community Change Agent
Award). R&B icon Gladys Knight (Living Legend Award) brought
the audience to its feet with a medley of her most popular classics
including "Love Overboard" and "Midnight Train to Georgia". Additional
performers included some of R&B's reigning queens: Andra Day,
Brandy, Jazmine Sullivan, Monica, Corinne Bailey Rae, Marsha Ambrosius and
Imani Uzuri. Lauryn Hill's special surprise performance of
"Lost Ones" closed out the epic evening.
The televised special, "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" on BET is a BET Networks, B.G.R.
Enterprises Inc./BONDVISION MEDIA and Jesse Collins Entertainment
production. The executive producers are Beverly Bond, CEO, Founder and
Creator of "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™," Connie Orlando, BET Interim Head of
Programming, and Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan – Clay of Jesse
Collins Entertainment.
For updates or more information about BLACK
GIRLS ROCK! ™ visit http://www.BET.com/blackgirlsrock
and www.blackgirlsrock.com
Join the conversation on social media by logging on to our social media
platforms:
• On Twitter by using hashtag: #BlackGirlsRock; follow us @BET and
@BLACKGIRLSROCK
• On Facebook by liking the fan pages at facebook.com/BET and
facebook.com/BLACKGIRLSROCK
• On Instagram @betnetworks and @BLACKGIRLSROCK
ABOUT BLACK
GIRLS ROCK! ™:
Founded by celebrity DJ, model and executive producer, Beverly Bond, BLACK
GIRLS ROCK! ™ is a multifaceted movement dedicated to shifting the
culture of media images depicting Black women and girls. Since 2006, BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™ has been committed to empowering women through media
and enriching girls through leadership, education, and positive identity
development programs. For additional information on BLACK GIRLS ROCK! ™,
visit http://www.blackgirlsrock.com.
ABOUT BET NETWORKS:
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA, VIA.B))), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and
public affairs television programming for the African-American audience.
The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can
be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom
and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer
brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading
Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news;
CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to
54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel
and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment
tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings
for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event
Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with
festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides
ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET
International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the
extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT:
Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service television and film
production company founded by entertainment industry veteran and
multi-Image Award® winner Jesse Collins. Collins has played an integral
role in producing many of television's most memorable moments in music
entertainment. Most recently Collins was the executive producer of the
critically-acclaimed film, The New Edition Story, a biopic on the boy
band that aired as a 3-part mini-series on BET in January 2017 and
posted record ratings for the network and attracted nearly 30 million
viewers. Collins has also produced award-winning programming including
the BET Awards, BET Honors, UNCF's An Evening of Stars, ABFF Honors,
Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards, is a consulting producer
for the iconic GRAMMY Awards and executive producer of BET's hit TV
series, Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart and VH1 shows
Dear Mama and Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube. Will Smith, Beyonce, Chris
Rock, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Prince and
Mariah Carey are a few of the myriad of superstar talent that Collins
has worked with through the years. Follow Jesse Collins Entertainment
@JesseCollinsEnt on Twitter and Instagram and go to http://www.jessecollinsent.com/
for more information on the company.
ABOUT NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER:
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark,
New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United
States. It is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of
New Jersey -- where great performances and events enhance and transform
lives every day. As New Jersey's Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse
communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State's
and the world's best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the
revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education
programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts
enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted over seven million visitors (including
more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and
nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its
constituents. Visit http://www.njpac.org
or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC for more information.
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