The award-winning actress Marsai Martin will host Mary J. Blige’s second annual Strength of a Woman Summit in Atlanta.
I’m so excited to bring our Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit back to Atlanta for its second year,” the Grammy Award-winning singer said in a press statement. “Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire, and build amongst a community of women is the reason why we created this festival. I’m so grateful for all of the support from our performers and participants and of course Live Nation Urban, Pepsi, and our additional partners who are committed to celebrating and creating a community for Black women.”
According to Variety, the summit will also feature commentary from Ciara, Jayda Cheaves, Brandee Evans, Egypt Sherrod, Gail Bean, Mara Brock Akil, Milan Harris, Toya Johnson-Rushing, Yandy Smith-Harris, and Iyanla Vanzant, who will deliver a keynote address.
Set for May 11-14, the event will be held at AmericasMart in Atlanta, and is presented as part of the Strength of a Woman Festival, which is a four day celebration devoted to music, comedy, female empowerment and community building, with Pepsi returning as its collaborator. Musical performances for the festival portion include Blige, Lauryn Hill, Summer Walker, Robert Glasper, Mike Epps, Jodeci, Busta Rhymes, Jeezy, Method Man, Jadakiss, Lucky Daye, Coco Jones, Saucy Santana, Sunday Service Collective and Muni Long.
The Strength of a Woman Summit is free for attendees, and will include a Wellness Village from CVS Village, a Creative Lounge from Amazon Music, a Beauty Village, and a Purpose Ball, which will celebrate Black transgender women, the entire LGBTQIA+ community, a Tech Village, and a Financial Literacy Village. This year’s schedule also features live recordings from popular podcasts such as Angela Yee’s Lip Service, Don’t Call Me White Girl, Baller Alert and Earn Your Leisure.
You can visit soawfestival.com for the full guest lineup and registration information.