Radio One Raleigh 25th Anniversary Women’s Empowerment…They Did That!
Raleigh, NC – Twenty-five years of Women’s Empowerment (WE) was celebrated over the last weekend of April 2019, where Radio One of Raleigh produced and organized this year’s event in recognition of its 25 years anniversary. This year’s focus was on sharing its prestigious legacy of excellence in celebrating the heritage, cultural impact, and influence of African American women in the community and and the world.
WE 2019 was a reunion of black folks and all things great for the well-being of today’s black women. Over 12,000 people were in attendance on April 27th to celebrate the WE experience held at the PNC Arena, a venue that comfortably held the event.
The headlining musical artist was everyone’s favorite aunt in music, the Patti Pie maker herself, Ms. Patti LaBelle. Other stage performances included gospel artist Kirk Franklin, who took us to church on a Saturday morning, and Avant, who took the ladies on a soulful R&B journey. Young R&B heart throb Jacquees didn’t even show up, due to travel issues, it was reported.
Patti LaBelle entertained us all in a one-on-one sit-down with daytime radio personality Karen Clark of Foxy 107/104. Patti shared the importance of self-care, sharing a private conversation that she had just the day before with her assistant, Kim. Patti said, “I’m tired, I work like James Brown. I’m the hardest working woman in show business and I ain’t lying to you guys.”
The 2004 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee continued, “I believe if you pay your money to see a Patti [LaBelle] show, you have to be pleased; not by 100%, but 120%. Times are hard, we have no money to pay our bills, to buy that hair, to just take care of us. to take care of your family members and you’re coming to my show to pay your money…I can’t give you the real me, that’s disgusting. So I work on giving you the best Patti that I have and she’s good.”
This conversation that Patti shared after expressing her feelings of tiredness was beyond all that was needed to empower the women who packed the PNC Arena for an empowering experience. Included in the experience was a host of many memorable experiences throughout the venue. Where one in particular, was associated with the four Black Greek sororities of the Divine 9.
Spectacular Magazine CEO/Publisher Phyllis Coley hosted the panel discussion and had a chat with the Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Beverly E. Smith of Delta Sigma Theta Sigma, Dr. Irish Spencer of Zeta Phi Beta, and Andrea M Fleming of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority discussing “Sisterhood.” The women talked about the misconceptions of sorority life, how to deal with women who shouldn’t be in your circle, and offered advice to women who worked with large groups of women.
The 25th Women’s Empowerment celebration shares a new show from Hello Beautiful and Madame Noir titled “Listen to Black Women” where the moderators Shamika Sanders and Kyairia Kelly, and panelist Erica Campbell, Cynthia Bailey, Maticia Sims, April Parker Jones, and Erin Byrd, discuss the issues affecting black women mostly incorporating the voices of the audience and experts.
Radio One of Raleigh during the 25th year of Women’s Empowerment really touched on many areas in regards to social media, couture fashion and beauty products and tips by way of the Fashion Suite. Model, reality-TV star Cynthia Bailey was the celebrity guest. A Blogger Panel discussing “How Do Bloggers Build Influence and Make Money” featured panelist April Clark, Ashley Carter and Lanatria Ellis. The Fashion Suite offered boutique clothing store vendors to shop for clothes and accessories. The third floor of the venue consisted of the WE Vendor Marketplace for shopping and discovering one-of-a-kind brands.
Women’s Empowerment 2019 had many reasons beyond entertainment to bring women out. There were numerous free activities to take advantage of such as free health screenings, networking opportunities on a level beyond what has been imagined for a general business owner, as well as, discussions on the importance of getting out to vote.
Radio One of Raleigh did that! We can hardly wait to see what next year will have in store for us.
Highlights of WE 2019 (Photos: Landon Bost)
