*The Black Women on Broadway Awards will return to New York City for their third annual event this summer.
The ceremony will be held at Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on June 10. The BWOB Awards were established to support Black actresses in the Broadway community. Deadline reports that Irene Gandy, Aisha Jackson, and DeDe Ayite will be honored this year.
The event was launched in 2020, led by Oscar and Tony nominee Danielle Brooks, Amber Iman, and Jocelyn Bio. The ceremony is an offshoot of their Instagram account “Black Women on Broadway,” which celebrates the history of Black women in theater.
“We are thrilled to be able to host the third annual Black Women on Broadway Awards Celebration. It is our goal as an organization to honor and celebrate the achievements of Black women in theater both on and Off Broadway each season,” the co-founders said.
“This year, we are proud to honor Aisha Jackson, Dede Ayite and Irene Gandy – three incredibly hardworking women in theater whose achievements deserve to be celebrated,” they continued.
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“It is so important that we continue to shine a light on the outstanding contribution that Black women in the theater community bring on and off stage. For the past two years, we have seen how inspiring and vital this celebration has been and we hope for it to be a mainstay of the theater awards season,” the co-founders added.
Brooks previously told Variety that Black actresses “need spaces like this.”
She added, “There are so many women that feel a disconnect within this community.”
Brooks continued, “The thing that separates us from other organizations is we’re really tapping into the spaces that get ignored — the lighting departments, sound departments, the understudies, the writers, the producers, the people that are not always in the front of the stage, that aren’t the actors. We’re bringing space for them to be in the room,” she explained.
“That’s really great for networking, but also for reminding this industry we are out here. Reminding younger girls that look up to us that there are different positions in this industry that you can aspire to that aren’t just being an actress. To expand our sphere and say, ‘Black women can take on all of it.’”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Black Women on Broadway Announce Inaugural Awards Ceremony on June 6 in NYC
