This Year's "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" Awards Celebrants Are Issa Rae, Yara Shahidi,
Roberta Flack, Suzanne Shank, Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson
"BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" 2017 Awards Premieres Sunday, August 20, 2017
at 8PM on BET
To Apply for Media Credentials for BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ 2017 Awards:
https://blackgirlsrock2017.iworldreg.com/public/apply/media_mass_apply
#BLACKGIRLSROCK
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Today, BET Networks announces Taraji P. Henson as the host of the "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" 2017 Awards, which will tape on Saturday, August
5, 2017 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Prudential Hall in
Newark, NJ and premiere on Sunday, August 20, 2017 at 8:00 P.M./ET on
BET. Created by celebrity DJ and women's empowerment advocate Beverly
Bond, the "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" 2017 Awards honors the
groundbreaking achievements of Black women who have fearlessly broken
barriers in the areas of art, business, entertainment and community
service.
"I'm honored to host the ‘BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™' Awards. I love the message and I love
Beverly Bond and her vision. I was lucky to be honored in 2011. It is
truly a highlight of my life. Now I'm back to be part of this amazing
night to honor the strong and powerful Yara, Issa Rae, Roberta, Suzanne,
Derrica and Natalie. Let's make history together as we come together
as women of brains, beauty and in support of each other," said Henson.
Taraji P. Henson starred in the Academy Award nominated FOX
Feature Hidden Figuresbased on the life of Katherine Johnson at
NASA. The cast received Best Ensemble at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild
Awards. Taraji received the 2016 Golden Globe for Best Actress in Drama
Series, Critic's Choice Award and two Emmy nominations for her star turn
as Cookie Lyon in the groundbreaking and award winning hit series Empire.
Taraji released her NY Times Best Seller Around The Way Girl
published by Simon and SchusterOctober 2016. She stars in the three
features Acrimony/Lionsgate, Proud Mary/Sony and the
independent film Best of Enemies set for release in 2018. Taraji
has received seven NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress and
Entertainer of the Year. She also received five BET Awards for her work
in film and television.
This year, the three-time NAACP Award-winning "BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™" Awards celebrates "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 Wilsonand Natalie
Wilson of The Black & Missing Foundation (Community Change Agent
Award).
The televised special 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, Interim Head of Programming for BET Networks 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:
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• 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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MEDIA
BET NETWORKS
LeToya
Glenn-Bacon
Letoya.Glenn@bet.net
212-205-3158
or
BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!™
Lisa Sorensen
Lisa@ls-pr.com
818-339-2392
Source: BET Networks
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