Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Wyclef Jean, Danny
Glover, Kerry Washington, Vivica A. Fox and Hill Harper Will Pay Tribute to
African American Luminaries at 'THE BET HONORS' on Saturday, January 12
Hosted by Cedric 'The Entertainer,' the Inaugural Event Will Recognize Alicia
Keys, Tyra Banks, Dr. Cornel West, Richard Parsons, the Honorable Maxine
Waters and CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd, and Premiere on the Network Friday,
February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Erykah Badu,
Jill Scott, Wyclef Jean, Danny Glover, Kerry Washington, Vivica A. Fox and
Hill Harper will pay tribute to Alicia Keys (Entertainment Award), Tyra Banks
(Media Award), Dr. Cornel West, University Professor in the Center for African
American Studies (Award for Education), Richard Parsons (Corporate Citizen
Award), The Honorable Maxine Waters (Public Service Award) and CEO Janice
Bryant Howroyd (Entrepreneur Award) at THE BET HONORS on Saturday, January 12
at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Cedric "The Entertainer,"
THE BET HONORS, which celebrates the lives and achievements of African
American luminaries, will premiere on the network during Black History Month
on Friday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )
"We are thrilled to present the first-ever BET HONORS and pay tribute to
the thinkers, trailblazers and trendsetters whose accomplishments serve as
inspirations for current and future generations," said Debra Lee, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, BET Networks. "Each of these remarkable individuals
has made significant contributions to the Black community and American culture
overall, and BET Networks is proud to recognize them through this very
special, new tentpole event. We've done a number of significant shows in
other cities, but what better place to honor these individuals than in our
home city of Washington, D.C."
Stephen Hill, BET's EVP, Entertainment Programming, Music & Talent and
Lynne Harris Taylor, VP of Specials are the show's executive producers, along
with John Cossette of John Cossette Productions.
For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases and
photographs, visit BET's press-only Web site at http://www.bet.com/pr.
About the Honorees
TYRA BANKS -- Tyra Banks is a supermodel, host and judge of the reality
television show America's Next Top Model, and is currently hosting her own
Daytime Emmy Award-nominated talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.
JANICE BRYANT HOWROYD -- Janice Bryant Howroyd is the chairman, chief
executive officer and founder of ACT*1, a personnel servicing company that
provides staffing, human resources and management solutions to Fortune 500
companies in many industries.
ALICIA KEYS -- Alicia Keys is a nine-time Grammy Award-winning R&B and
soul singer, songwriter and pianist, who has sold more than 25 million records
worldwide.
RICHARD PARSONS -- Richard Parsons is Chairman of the Board of Time Warner
Inc., whose businesses include filmed entertainment, interactive services,
television networks, cable systems and publishing.
THE HONORABLE MAXINE WATERS -- Maxine Waters (D-CA) was elected in
November 2006 to her ninth term in the House of Representatives, serving the
35th District of California, which represents a large part of South Central
Los Angeles, the communities of Westchester and Playa Del Ray, as well as the
diverse cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale.
DR. CORNEL WEST, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR IN THE CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN
STUDIES -- Dr. Cornel West is a professor of religion and African American
studies at Princeton University, and is considered one of America's most
gifted, provocative and important public intellectuals. He has won numerous
awards, including the American Book Award, and has received more than 20
honorary degrees.
About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public
affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary
BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according to Nielsen Media
Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the
dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business
extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for Black entertainment,
music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET
Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET
Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET
Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home
environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, a service venture
into the lucrative world of ringtones, games and video content for wireless
devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for
global distribution.
SOURCE BET Networks
Jeanine Liburd, +1-212-846-7437, jeanine.liburd@bet.net; or Tracy McGraw,
+1-212-846-7879, tracy.mcgraw@bet.net, both of BET Networks
