Talk about a dream team. Page Six reports that Taraji P. Henson will be the host of BET's Black Girls Rock Awards honoring Issa Rae this August. Held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ, Black Girls Rock is an initiative to empower Black girls to take charge and live their life through the arts. These awards serve as a reminder of just how much they can achieve. As a Golden Globe winner for her iconic role on Empire, Henson is a perfect fit for the gig, and will be surrounded by women just as inspiring as she is.
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Specifically, 2017's awards will be honoring Issa Rae, creator of HBO's Insecure, which just started airing its second season. Rae will be given the Star Power Award, but many other important women will be receiving honors of their own.
Singer Roberta Flack will receive the Living Legend Award, black-ish actress Yara Shahidi will receive the Young Gifted and Black Award, financier Suzanne Shank will be given the Shot Caller Award, and community organizers Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson (The Black & Missing Foundation) will receive the Community Change Agent Award.
As host, there's no doubt Henson will inspire and move all those in the audience. After all, we were certainly moved by her words when she spoke to Refinery29 back in December:
"We all need to stop being lazy and pay attention," she said on the state of politics. "As a people, with the last administration, we got lazy. We were like: Everything is going good, we’ve got a Black president, LGBT people are getting their rights, it's all good. We got lazy. And then this happened. So when people ask what to do next, I want to say: Wake up, everybody! We’ve got work to do. Pay attention, read, research, figure out what you can do in your own backyard that will make a difference."
Her work with Black Girls Rock is one of those important steps.