Mary J. Blige To Headline Strength Of A Woman Festival And Summit In NYC, Celebrating Black Female Excellence

Blige prepared the festival with an all-Black woman staff and management team.

The third annual Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in New York City will be headed by Mary J. Blige. The festival is a three-day event from May 10 to May 12.

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul has planned the Strength of a Woman Festival with an all-Black female team. The marketing team, management, and staff members reflect Blige’s commitment to the festival’s message. In an exclusive interview with Forbes, she revealed what went behind her decision to conduct the preparation this way.

She said, “Black women in any business are the most overlooked, underpaid, underestimated. I wanted to put them in a light where people see how amazing we all are and not overlooked.”

“This is my identity. The whole goal is to elevate and sustain, and not to stay in the same place. You do that through entrepreneurship, by figuring out new ways to invent yourself and create revenue streams to have longevity.”

The festival is stacked with an impressive lineup of sponsorship deals, all Black and female-owned. It will feature products from Mielle Organics, On a Mission by Ciara, Sister Love — a brand created by Mary J. Blige and Simone I. Smith — and Sun Goddess Wines.

The Mother’s Day weekend event will begin at the Apollo Theater, hosted by Tiffany Haddish.

The next day will kick off the music performances. The Barclays Center will have live performances by Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, 50 Cent, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Muni Long, Lola Brooke, and Funk Flex.

Blige told Forbes that having the event over Mother’s Day weekend was an important choice for her. “Mothers are extremely important because, without them, there would be no hip-hop culture, as there would be no hip-hop artists,” said Blige.

She continued, “Mothers are the reason these people are here. They birth these people, and we have to always acknowledge that, especially on Mother’s Day.”

“Instead of being a Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, be the biggest and best Queen of Hip-Hop Soul in the world that you can be for yourself.”