Anika Poitier and David Belafonte to Join BTC 'Building the Change' Gala

The evening will include special performances by Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose and cast members from the Original Broadway Cast of Motown the Musical including Valisia LeKae, Charl Brown, Bryan Terrell Clark, Ryan Shaw, and Morgan James.
 
BTC is deeply honored, with permission of the Poitier and Belafonte families, to present the Poitier-Belafonte Award for Cultural Activism at this year’s gala to Luis A. Miranda, Jr. This award was created in recognition of these two groundbreaking black artists and activists in the entertainment industry.
 
With the blessing of the Boseman family, the Chadwick Boseman Change Maker Award will be presented to Girl Be Heard. Boseman was an actor, playwright, and activist who promoted the Black Lives Matter Movement. He significantly impacted Black cinema and culture by writing plays and directing as well as instructing drama. He played the Black superhero King T’Challa in Black Panther and starred as other changemakers and Black icons such as Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get On Up, and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.
 
The Lynn Nottage Bold Beacon Award will be presented to Phylicia Rashad. Phylicia Rashad is a trailblazing actress, director, and educator whose impact spans television, theater, and film. A Theater Hall of Fame inductee, Rashad’s legacy is defined by artistic excellence, education, and cultural preservation.