BET Awards recognize contributions of African-Americans

World Today

It’s been one week after the American film industry hosted the globally-watched Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. Now, the U.S. cable channel BET, or Black Entertainment Television, has hosted its own awards ceremony in Washington D.C. It comes on the heels of criticism by some that the Oscars ceremony almost exclusively recognized white actors.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports from Washington.

The BET Honors recognizes the cultural contributions of black-Americans. Entertainers, educators, and entrepreneurs.

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“We are creating change, and we are creating roles in films and television that look like the world we live in, you know what I’m saying, which is not one color,” Actor Jussie Smollett said.

Many here admitted they supported a viral campaign #OscarsSoWhite, after only white actors and actresses were nominated in the top performance categories at the Oscars for a second year in a row.

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Black comedian Chris Rock hosted the Oscars wearing a white tuxedo, and joked about the controversy. But some prominent black stars called for an Oscars boycott.
The black and white controversy is far from being a black-and-white issue. And some say, it extends well beyond the entertainment industry.

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“Race continues to have an outsized impact on everything from the likelihood that you will finish school, finish high school, the likelihood that you will die young, the likelihood that you’re own child will live to age one,” Political Commentator Melissa Harris-Perry said.
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For some, the true judge will always be the art.

“We have to continue to give quality work, you know, never slack. Always know that we are some of the best,” Singer Patti LaBelle said.