Rapper Missy Elliott and actress Raven-Symoné were honored in BET’s “Black Girls Rock!” program in November. Saturday evening, 26 Columbia and MU women were awarded the same honor at MU’s own adaptation, called “Black Women Rock!”
“When I saw that, I just immediately felt right after the show that it was something that would fit perfectly into the community,” junior Dreana Johnson said. “We should just honor black women who aren’t recognized for their hard work and achievements.”
And with that, Johnson made the idea a reality at MU.
“This year we’re bringing that home to Mizzou,” hostess Brittany Vickers said. “We’re bringing it to that black woman that’s right next door. She may be your classmate. She may be your professor. She may be that girl who you see everywhere but you’ve never gotten to meet. Well tonight, you will meet her, and we will tell you why she rocks.”
Despite giving birth to her son her sophomore year, recent MU alumna LaNee Bridewell stayed in school. Two years later, she walked across the stage at graduation with her son in hand. For her perseverance, Bridewell was awarded with the “Trailblazer” award.
“It’s amazing to be standing here,” Bridewell said through tears. “Some of you might know my whole life story and some of you might not, but I just feel blessed and honored to be standing here. Thank you for recognizing that in me.”
Throughout the evening, Vickers and fellow hostess Modupe Idowu asked the audience members to stand and say why they rock.
“My name is Taylor Young, and I rock because I’m the first woman in my family to go to college,” freshman Taylor Young said.
Numerous audience members stood and voiced their appreciation for the program.
“I’m so jittery because this is so awesome,” junior Aris Williams said. “You all are awesome.”
But many audience members said the most awesome part of the night was the appearance of MU’s first black Homecoming queen Jill Young-Menears. She was awarded the “2011 Black Women Rock Award” and was the keynote speaker.
Young-Menears wasn’t easy for Johnson to get in touch with, but after a few Google and Facebook searches, Johnson began speaking with Young-Menear’s son. A week later, plans were in motion for Young-Menears to return to MU.
“Mizzou was a school that my father was denied entry to just 20 years before I came here because of the color of his skin,” Young-Menears said. “In my household, for me to come to this school was really a very major thing that happened. For him, it was amazing because it broke the color barrier.”
Throughout the night, the event was referred to as the “first annual.” With an audience as enthusiastic and supportive as Saturday’s, Johnson said there’s no way the event couldn’t be held in the future.
“I’m actually ecstatic with how it went,” Johnson said. “I don’t even know how many times I cried. A lot of people came up to me and told me they were very inspired, and that is what the whole purpose of the program was.”