Beverly Bond
The “Black Girls Rock!” Interview
with Kam Williams
Beverly
Rocks!
A
dynamo in true form, Beverly Bond, has blazed trails in the music,
entertainment and social entrepreneurship industries. Her body of work,
across sectors, has made her one of the most celebrated DJs and social
innovators of our time.
A
true music connoisseur, Beverly’s
passion for music and her uncanny ability to read the crowd has solidified her
as one of the premier DJs in the world. Over the last decade, the former
Wilhelmina model has brought her versatile talents to the most highly exclusive
events and to a myriad of celebrity clients including Prince, Alicia Keys,
Sarah Jessica Parker, Erykah Badu, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Derrick Jeter, Jessica
and Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Z, Martha Stewart and others.
In
2006, she founded BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, a youth empowerment mentoring
organization. Bond simultaneously created the annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards
to celebrate the accomplishments of exceptional women of color who have made
outstanding contributions in their careers and stand as inspirational and
positive role models in the community.
In
2010, Beverly
first partnered with BET to air BLACK GIRLS ROCK! On network television. The Awards
show went on to receive an NAACP Image Award for outstanding Variety Series or
Special.
Beverly’s work as a
businesswoman, mentor, philanthropist and community leader has earned her a
number of prestigious recognitions. EBONY magazine listed Bond on its Power
100 list for five consecutive years. She was also recognized by Ebony as
one of the “Most Influential Blacks in America.” And she was
recognized as one of ESSENCE magazine’s “40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who
are Changing the World.”
Here,
she talks about this year’s BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards which is set to air on BET
on Sunday, April 5th at 7 pm ET/PT. Among the many luminaries
appearing on the show is First Lady Michelle Obama.
Kam
Williams: Hi Beverly, thanks for the interview.
Beverly Bond:
Thank you, Kam.
KW:
I’ll be mixing my questions in with some sent in by readers.
You just taped the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! awards show last night. Are you still on a
high from the event?
BB:
Omigosh! I’m still taking it in and trying to process it all.
KW:
Environmental activist Grace Sinden asks: What was
your strongest or most surprising impression of First Lady Michelle Obama?
BB:
I think I always knew this about her, although I’d never met
her in person until now, but she’s so authentic and genuine. And she’s so
sincere and committed to making a difference in the lives of others. She’s a
real humanitarian.
KW:
Were First Daughters Malia and Sasha in attendance?
BB:
No, unfortunately, they couldn’t be there.
KW:
How did you come to pick this year’s honorees: director Ava
DuVernay, actresses Jada Pinkett Smith and Cicely Tyson, singer Erykah Badu, CARE
CEO Dr. Helene D. Gayle and middle school principal Nadia Lopez?
BB:
Well, there’s never a shortage of incredible black women who
have made major contributions each year. So, we’re constantly monitoring what’s
happening in Black Girls’ World, so to speak, and we’re aware that there’s
always an abundance of worthy individuals to choose from. It’s a matter of each
person’s accomplishments and how current they are. Part of the process has to
do with production, and part of it just comes down to who is available and how
things fall in place based on the time period you’re looking at. So, yes,
there’s a process, but the truth is there are so many amazing black women who
have contributed to society who don’t always get a chance to shine. Our mission
is to make sure we acknowledge them on our stages.
KW:
Well, Ava DuVernay certainly did a phenomenal job shooting Selma, and I thought it
was a shame the way she was snubbed by the Oscars, since, in my opinion, she
deserved to be the first African-American female nominated in the Best Director
category.
BB:
Absolutely! In
addition there’s all the other tremendous work she does to support
up-and-coming filmmakers.
KW:
Grace also asks: How
difficult and over how many years did it take you to create BLACK
GIRLS ROCK! and make it into a social force?
BB:
I founded it in 2006, and it was an instant success. I was so
driven and so passionate about the necessity of this message that I worked 24
hours a day to make it happen. But it doesn’t feel difficult when it’s your
mission and your vision. It’s been a lot of work, but I knew that many people
would be into it. Honestly, by 2007, we had the media’s attention already, BET,
VH-1 and others, so I knew it was going to be televised. If you believe in
something enough, you’re going to make it work. And to me, this was so
important because it was about the message to the girls, especially the young
girls.
KW:
How were you able to sell the idea to BET, given its history
of often appealing to the lowest common denominator, as reflected in reality-TV
shows and misogynistic music videos?
BB:
It wasn’t difficult, because BET obviously needed something
like this. It was almost a perfect storm, because we came along at a time when
BET was trying to change that image and that message.
KW:
How do you respond to the Twitter trend #WhiteGirlsRock
which claimed that BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is racist?
BB:
I think that when you tune into Black Entertainment
Television and you are complaining about black people lifting up black women
and celebrating their wonderful accomplishments, your racism is showing all
over your face. Did they call in when the images were less than stellar? It is
fascinating to me how there’s an uproar whenever it comes to black people
celebrating themselves. So, I pay them no attention, although I did respond
once by writing a little article making the point that just because we say that
black girls rock doesn’t mean that you don’t rock, too. But I wonder whether
this was really just an attempt to punish us for having the audacity to
celebrate ourselves. Everyone’s so used to putting us at the bottom of the barrel
that they feel entitled to find our simply saying “We rock!” offensive. I don’t
give it too much attention, because it’s really silly, but it does show the
privilege and the racism that exists in some circles.
KW:
What do you want viewers to take away from BLACK GIRLS ROCK!?
BB:
BLACK GIRLS ROCK! really focuses on helping to raise the bar
for our kids, because we’ve got to change our culture and make black excellence
important again. Literacy should not be a problem for us in 2015. The education
gap continues to widen for black kids, and that’s telling. So, we have to
figure out how to help our kids to survive and thrive and become trailblazers
themselves.
KW:
What types of programs do you have at the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!
summer camp?
BB:
We have a very strong arts education program, plus media
literacy, coding, robotics, college prep, empowerment circles, financial
literacy and cultural immersion. They start every morning with African dance or
yoga, and end their day with Brazilian capoeira, with all that other material
in between. It’s a very well-rounded and intensive, two-week experience.
KW:
What motivated you to make the move from modeling to music
DJ?
BB:
I never really left modeling. When I became a DJ, that
career took over. I just evolved.
KW:
AALBC.com Editor Troy Johnson says: According
to government statistics, 72% of African-American children are born to unwed
mothers. Why do you think this is the case?
BB:
Why do I think it’s the case? I think we have a lot of
issues in our community, but I can’t say why. I believe there are a lot of
pressures that pull us apart as a people, and as families. I think there need
to be more messages of black love. And if we don’t start educating our kids
early in life about the ways in which they develop relationships with each
other, they’re doomed by the time they reach adulthood. When I started BLACK
GIRLS ROCK!, I primarily focused on music messages, because I felt so insulted
by many of them. I also felt they were sending a dangerous message about how
boys should look at girls, about how girls should look at themselves and each
other, and about how boys should relate to other boys. I felt like the music
was very degrading and violent and scary. And if someone 5 years-old is raised
on so much violence and explicit sex, and the suggestion that girls are just there
to be used for their bodies, it will warp what they will be like when they grow
up and how they will end up treating each other.
KW:
Troy
also says: African-Americans were able to gain victories 50 to 60 years
ago during the Civil Rights Movement, such as the marches in Selma
and the successful bus boycott in Montgomery,
Alabama. Do you think that this
type of activism is still possible today?
BB:
Yes, but we have to do it in many different ways. I think
Black Girls Rock is revolutionary. And there are other ways to achieve changes
in this technological age. For instance, without Twitter, there probably
wouldn’t have been such an outcry about Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and so many
others. But it’s important to use our voices to speak out and make a difference
since, if we don’t do it, no one’s going to do it for us.
KW:
Finally, Troy
would like to know, what was the last book you read?
BB:
Right now, I’m reading “Conversations with God.”
KW:
The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened
to?
BB:
“The Blacker the Berry”
by Kendrick Lamar.
KW:
Larry Greenberg asks: Is
it still fashionable to use the term ‘girl’?
BB:
It is for BLACK GIRLS ROCK! [Laughs]
KW:
Larry also says: I
shot a popular video of 10 year-old competitive shooter Shyanne Roberts, and
followed it up with a video of Shyanne teaching my 7 year-old daughter to shoot
a rifle. How do you feel about training young women on the use and safety of
firearms?
BB:
I can’t answer that question. I’m not a firearms person.
Never touched one. I don’t believe in weapons of destruction. I’m not saying
whether they’re appropriate for anyone else. That’s just me.
KW:
Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
BB:
Probably, but I can’t think of one off the top of my head.
KW:
What is your favorite dish to cook?
BB:
[LOL] I only cook once a year for Thanksgiving. I get it all
out of my system at one time. [Laughs some more]
KW:
The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
BB:
I don’t have a favorite, although there’s one woman, Barbara
Bui that I really, really love, because her clothes are structured in a way
that I like. They’re really strong.
KW:
The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest
childhood memory?
BB:
Ooh, let me think… [Chuckles] Gosh… I remember when my
mother took me to my grandmother’s to stay there and they put me on top of what
I though was a really high bed, because from my perspective my feet seemed so
far from the floor. I must have been 2-ish, since I was still pick up-able.
KW:
Was there a meaningful spiritual component to your
childhood?
BB:
Yeah, I’ve always had this feeling that I’m not here alone.
I remember after being taught as a young child that God is everywhere, how I
would always sleep in the corner of my bed to leave room for God
KW: When you look in the mirror, what
do you see?
BB:
Somebody who needs some more rest. [Laughs] Someone who is
growing into her better self.
KW:
The Melissa Harris-Perry question: How
did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?
BB:
It was actually more of a blessing than a heartbreak,
because I got free.
KW:
The Viola Davis question: What’s the biggest difference between who you are at
home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?
BB:
There’s a huge difference because you guys probably think
I’m glamorous, but I’m not. I’m the most low-key person in the world. I just
stay focused on having fun and doing what I’m here to do. It’s always
fascinating to me how people think I have this glamorous life. People who know
me, know I’m the same person.
KW:
The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe
all successful people share?
BB:
An ability to tap into their passion.
KW:
What’s in your wallet?
BB:
[LOL] A picture of my cousin Nikki who passed away, and some
credit cards.
KW:
Thanks again for the time, Beverly, and best of luck with Black Girls
Rock.
BB:
Thanks, Kam, and I must say this has been an awesome
interview. Thank you so much.
