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Angie Martinez, Ester Silver-Parker, Hydeia Broadbent, Janell Snowden, Julissa Bermudez, Letoya Luckett, Massah David, Nia Long, Soledad O'Brien, The Asia Society, WEEN, WEEN Awards
Two weeks ago I had the pleasure (thanks Ally!!) of attending the 2nd Annual WEEN Awards ceremony here in New York City. For those that don’t know, WEEN (Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network) “is a coalition of women and men of all ages and races committed to supporting, promoting and defending the balanced, positive portrayal of women in entertainment and society.” The founders and members of WEEN work tirelessly to achieve this goal and holding this annual award ceremony is just one of the many ways they’re breaking down doors and shattering barriers.
To say the night was amazing would be more than an understatement. The sheer drive, determination, humility and beauty emanating off of literally every single woman in the room was overwhelming. Being that close to greatness (no really, you could pretty much walk right up to your idol and make small talk) was so inspiring and made me even more focused on achieving the goals I’ve set for myself.
I spent the night at a table full of fabulous women, including Janell Snowden, News VP at VH1, Julissa Bermudez, MUN2/BET/MTV VJ & actress, and Massah David, Vice President of Events & Marketing at MVD, Inc and fellow Bison. All of the women were super sweet and hilarious, especially considering we were at the “stepchild” table as photographer Johnny Nunez called it. It was okay though, by the end of the night we were the cool table courtesy of Julissa who christened us the “Wine Club” and kept our waiter busy pouring nonstop rounds of white wine, lol. Shout out to Table 17!!
Honorees included, Hydeia Broadbent, Nia Long, Letoya Luckett, Angie Martinez, Soledad O’Brien and Ester Silver-Parker. Each woman was honored for their strides towards empowering women everywhere and once they spoke, you understood why. The evening was full of memorable events, the cutest being honoree Letoya calling her mom during her acceptance speech, and each award recipient left the room with inspiring and touching words. Overall I met an amazing group of women and left feeling like I could conquer the world. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend my evening! I don’t have any pictures (other than the red carpet ones that I’m sure you’ve already seen…I know, I’m a slacker, smh) but WEEN was gracious enough to email this great recap of the night to all of its members. Can’t wait for next year!