By Kimberly Wilson ·March 24, 2021March 24, 2021
What better time to celebrate #BlackGirlMagic than Women’s History Month? In recognition of all of the accomplishments of Black women (and there are a lot of them!), the National Urban League is returning with its prestigious Women of Power Awards, honoring some of the boldest, baddest and brilliant Black women in the United States.
Like most things, the awards ceremony this year will be held virtually, but with the star power of these women, it’s an event you won’t want to miss! Honorees include Abby Phillip, CNN senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday; Stacey Abrams, Founder & Board Chair, Fair Fight Action; Brittany Packnett Cunningham, activist, educator, host of UNDISTRACTED, and MSNBC contributor; Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Chief Executive Officer, Feeding America; Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD, research fellow and scientific lead, Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team, NIH, NIAID, Vaccine Research Center; Andrea Custis, President & CEO, Urban League of Philadelphia and Amanda Gorman, inaugural poet, activist and author.
The event which takes place March 25 at 7pm EST, will stream on the National Urban League’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels and on NUL.org. CBS News correspondent and co-anchor of CBS Saturday, Michelle Miller, will serve as host and mistress of ceremonies.
“National Urban League has always stood to empower communities and change lives. During Women’s History Month, especially in uncertain times like this, I’m humbled to be honored by the National Urban League for a “Women in Power” Award,” says Kizzmekia S. Corbett, PhD. “It is my hope that visibility of awards such as this, which pedestal women who are change curators, will empower a new generation of girls and thusly continue to ignite change on the community level and beyond.”
For the first time, the National Urban League will also honor a Young Woman of Power — Amanda Gorman — in recognition of Gorman’s inspiring performances at the Presidential Inauguration and the Superbowl, as well as the role young people have played in demanding racial justice.
“I’m so deeply honored to be receiving a Woman of Power Award from the National Urban League,” said Gorman. “As the descendant of slaves and a family who moved to the Midwest and the West Coast during the Great Migrations, so many of the rights I enjoy today as a Black woman stem directly from the brave efforts of the people working at the National Urban League. I’m also completely humbled to be receiving it alongside so many other women whom I look up to, and who have had a huge imprint on my own life.”
And the celebration doesn’t end there! It will include performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius, as well as a tribute to Vice President Kamala Harris and other women of achievement, including U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, Black Votes Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown and Washington State Senator T’wina Nobles.
“I am both honored and humbled to be a recipient of this year’s Women of Power Award from the National Urban League,” says Andrea Custis. “It is an esteemed privilege to be recognized alongside this list of distinguished women who have left a long-lasting impact in their respective industries and throughout the country. More importantly, it fills me with great joy to know we are unified in fighting to secure social justice and equality for African American people everywhere!”
Adds Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, “As a member of the Board of Trustees, I came to know more intimately what the National Urban League means to our country and, by its example, to the world. The Women of Power Award is made all-the-more meaningful due to the moments of challenge and triumph for which it is given, and the remarkable cohort of honorees with whom it is shared.”
For more information, or to RSVP for the event, visit https://nul.org/event/women-power-awards
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