This year marks the 10th anniversary of the annual ‘Black Girls Rock’ awards evening, which honours Black women in the entertainment industry.
The 2016 event, which was hosted on Friday by ‘black-ish’ star Tracee Ellis Ross, was taped in Newark at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre and was due to be aired on BET, so check the schedules for repeats if you missed it.
Ross opened the show with a number that channelled many Black girls who rock – Rihanna, Beyoncé, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan, Janet Jackson and her mother, Diana Ross, were muses for the high-energy number.
Hillary Clinton – who has been gaining much support from Black women voters – made an appearance at the show, stating that Black women are “change-makers and path-makers and ground-shakers.”
Clinton was greeted with a standing ovation as she walked onto the stage. “The entire world knows what you know, and that is, black girls rock!” Clinton proclaimed to an approving audience.
“Black women are change makers and path makers and ground shakers. My life has been changed by strong black women leaders, from Marian Wright Edelman to Dorothy Height to Maya Angelou.
“There are still a lot of barriers holding back African-Americans and Black women in particular, so a gathering like this filled with so many powerful, strong women is a rebuke to every single one of those barriers,” Clinton said.
“All of our kids, no matter what ZIP code they live in, deserve a good teacher and a good school, a safe community and clean water to drink,” said the Democratic presidential candidate, referring to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Clinton’s appearance drew sceptical reactions from Twitter, such as: “Hillary is speaking at Black Girls Rock….The pandering is off the charts” to “WAAAAAAAAAAIT A MINUTE….Hilary Clinton showed up to Black Girls Rock? Since when has she EVER cared about black women?”
‘Black Girls Rock’ founder, Beverly Bond, followed Clinton in the show, which marked the 10th anniversary of the event.
Shonda Rhimes, creator of the hit ABC shows “Scandal” and “How To Get Away With Murder,” brought her daughter Harper to the ceremony, “because she and you are the ones who count, the ones who matter,” said Rhimes.
Performers included Monica, Brandy, Jazmine Sullivan, Marsha Ambrosius, Andra Day, Corinne Bailey Rae, Lauryn Hill and Imani Uzuri. Gladys Knight, who also performed, was honoured with the Living Legend Award.
Rihanna received the Rock Star Award. She thanked the program for “celebrating us in a world that doesn’t celebrate us enough,” and added, “Role model is not the title they like to give me…but I think I can inspire a lot of young women to be themselves, and that is half the battle.”
The show featured appearances by actresses Eva Marcille from BET’s “About the Business;” ‘black-ish’ star Yara Shahidi; Skai Jackson from Disney’s “Jesse;” and Vicky Jeudy from “Orange Is the New Black,” according to BET’s website.
Tatyana Ali also made an appearance, debuting her baby bump for the first time. The 37-year-old actress presented Amandla Stenberg with the Young, Gifted and Black award wearing a body-hugging blue gown.
