ESSENCE will join forces with producer, writer, actor and director Tyler Perry for our first-ever Black Men in Hollywood dinner on February 26.
The pre-Oscars event will recognize the exceptional work of breakthrough and trailblazing performers and visionaries who contributed to the industry’s most celebrated films.
“Throughout the year, ESSENCE has chronicled the multitude of extraordinary performances and unforgettable moments in the pages of the magazine and on ESSENCE.com” said ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. Bush. “To be invited by our friend Tyler Perry to partner in this intimate celebration of Black cinema during Oscar week is especially significant, as we salute some of the most powerful, authentic and multi-dimensional images we’ve seen on screen-images that serve to inspire our young men of color.”
The celebration will also highlight the work of The California Endowment Influential Sons & Brothers campaign, which acknowledges those standout achievers who are vital role models for young men of color.
The Black Men in Hollywood will come as a precursor to the Black Women in Hollywood luncheon, an annual affair held at the Beverly Hills hotel honoring the triumphs of amazing women in film and television. This year’s event will honor Academy Award nominated actress Lupita Nyong’o, award-winning director and writer, Ava DuVernay, and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Stay tuned to ESSENCE.com for highlights, photos and behind-the-scenes access to ESSENCE Black Men in Hollywood and ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood.