Chaka Khan and Kelly Rowland are among the women honoured at the second annual Black Women in Music dinner.
The event in Los Angeles is billed as an evening celebrating “the Black women preserving and protecting the music industry”.
“I don’t know how long we’ve been trying to pull it together, but I think that Black women finally found the beauty within ourselves and each other,” Khan said. “I feel so overwhelmed right now, this evening, with high spirit.”
Rowland’s award was handed over by her mother, Tina Knowles, who gushed, “Kelly, you are a rare gem. You’re a superstar in every sense of the word, and you are also the best wife, mother, sister, friend and daughter anyone can ask for.”
This year’s honorees also included choreographer Fatima Robinson, music executive Natina Nimene, Billboard’s Gail Mitchell and Gender Amplified’s Ebonie Smith.
Connie Orlando, executive VP at BET, produced the evening.
“This gathering is the living answer to a prayer,” she noted. “We are here to support one another, protect our presence, and build a legacy of love that lights the way for the girls coming behind us.
“As Black women, we are constantly asked to labour and be the backbone, often while our own wellbeing is ignored. We live in a climate that tries to minimise our power and rewrite our truth.”
Singers Chanté Moore and David Michael Wyatt and violinist Yuli performed at the event, which was hosted by comedian Zainab Johnson.
