Beyoncé was honored tonight for her staunch efforts in humanitarianism.
On Sunday (June 28), the “Drunk in Love” musician proudly accepted her Humanitarian Award at the 20th annual BET Awards with a powerful message on the importance of voting. As fans know, the Grammy-winning songbird is being honored with the award not only for the longevity of her music career, but specifically for the acts of good she’s accomplished with her BeyGood initiative over the years.
With this year’s ceremony being broadcast virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Beyoncé delivered her moving speech from the comfort of her home.
“Thank you so much for this beautiful honor,” she began. “I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers and all of my sisters out there inspiring me, marching, and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard, and you are proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain.”
“Now, we have one more thing we need to do to walk in our true power and that is to vote,” she urged. “I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system. We have to continue to do this together, continue to fight for each other and lift each other up because there are people banking on us staying at home during local elections in primaries happening in states across the country.”
She concluded, “We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does. Please continue to be the change you want to see.”
After accepting the honor, the “Spirit” artist unveiled a teaser for her upcoming visual album, Black Is King. Inspired by the music of the singer’s album The Lion King: The Gift, her latest project “reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns.” Black Is King will be the first of three projects Beyoncé is reportedly collaborating on with Disney, and comes just a week after unveiling her Juneteenth anthem, “Black Parade.”
