BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is a company founded by
executive producer,
businesswoman, celebrity
DJ, and former
modelBeverly Bond.[1] The company hosts an annual award show of the same name that honors and promotes
Black women's achievements. BLACK GIRLS ROCK! also has a nonprofit arm [2] that teaches leadership skills and develops confidence in teenage girls through its annual "BLACK GIRLS LEAD" conference.[3]
History
BLACK GIRLS ROCK! was founded by celebrity DJ and model Beverly Bond in 2006. The inaugural BLACK GIRLS ROCK! AWARDS ceremony honored rapper MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Joyce at powerHouse Arena, an art gallery and
powerHouse Books location in DUMBO, Brooklyn. [4] For the second annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards the organization honored
Missy Elliott,
Sylvia Rhone, and DJ Diamond Kuts at
Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City with actress
Regina King as its host. The organization continued to independently produce its annual award show in New York City until 2009. In 2008 Regina King hosted the award show again and in 2009 the award show was co-hosted by Regina King and
Tracee Ellis Ross.
In 2010 BLACK GIRLS ROCK! collaborated with
BET to bring its annual award ceremony to television. [5][6] The award show aired on BET from 2010 through 2019. In 2021, Beverly Bond, launched BGR!TV Networks, which streams original content celebrating Black women and girls including the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards. The BGR!TV Networks first program was the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! 15th-anniversary Fundraising Gala which was headlined by
Chaka Khan and featured Grammy-nominated artists
Alice Smith and
Maimouna Youssef, a.k.a. MuMu Fresh; D.C.'s all-woman go-go band Bela Dona; Grammy Award-winning gospel singer
Tasha Cobbs Leonard; celebrity DJ Active; and an exclusive collaboration with Chaka Khan and
Def Leppard lead guitarist
Phil Collen.
BLACK GIRLS ROCK! also holds an annual BLACK GIRLS LEAD conference for girls and hosts educational STEM programs through its platform Girls Rock Tech![5]
Award Show
Each year, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! celebrants are recognized in categories including, but not limited to, "The Rock Star", "Social Humanitarian", "Who Got Next?", "Living Legend", "Shot Caller", "Trailblazer", "Motivator", "Young, Gifted & Black", "Star Power", "Icon" or "Visionary" award.[12] The program features musical performances by female recording artists in the
R&B and
Soul music genres. Notable speakers have included
Michelle Obama (2015) and
Hillary Clinton (2016).[5][13]
In February 2018,
Simon & Schuster published Black Girls Rock! Owning Our Magic. Rocking Our Truth. The book was edited by Beverly Bond and features insights from nearly sixty influential Black women, including Michelle Obama, Angela Davis, Shonda Rhimes, Misty Copeland, Yara Shahidi, and Mary J. Blige.[34][35]