UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and BET have announced that they will join forces to make this year's edition of UNCF's long-running UNCFAn Evening of Stars® the most exciting and moving in the program's 33-year history.
UNCF An Evening of Stars® has long been a showcase both for legendary and fast-rising stars from the music industry -- recent performers and prior honorees have included Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and Stevie Wonder -- and for education success stories that embody the spirit of UNCF's iconic motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." ® Working together, UNCF and BET will combine the program's star-studded tradition with BET's proven record of attracting both the music industry's hottest talent and large, passionate audiences eager to engage in the issues we all face. Additionally, the new program aims to further rally the entertainment industry around the importance of education and the doors it can open.
"Our students and their need for a good education deserve the large and passionate audience that watches BET," said UNCF president and CEO, Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D. "They deserve the best entertainers performing on stage and speaking out for the right to go to and through college, and they deserve to have their stories told in a way that everyone can connect to. Together, UNCF and BET can create a show that entertains at the same time it delivers on the opportunity to inform and activate new viewers around the UNCF mission of education for all Americans."
"We're excited to partner with UNCF for UNCF An Evening of Stars® amplifying their message and assisting in their goal to better support African-American students and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)," said Stephen Hill, President of Music and Specials Programming, BET Networks. "We have a phalanx of passionate BET folks (many of them HBCU grads) who look forward to producing and airing a great show celebrating the power of education and the need for everyone to engage with UNCF. We must ensure that we can educate our future."
The new UNCF An Evening of Stars® will be a musical variety show punctuated with short video segments spotlighting a few of the 60,000 students whose education UNCF supports every year, making the program a celebration of the best in entertainment and education. In addition, the new format will allow performers to perform the songs they are identified with and want to promote, thereby attracting the hottest talent and music. The show will be taped before a live audience on August 14, 2011 and will air on BET Networks this fall.
This year's show is made possible by Target, Presenting Sponsor of UNCF An Evening of Stars®, and National Sponsors, McDonald's and AT&T. Official, and Major Sponsors include American Airlines, Wells Fargo, BET Networks, Buick and the U.S. Army.
