Strength of a Woman Summit 2023

The Mary J. Blige name has always been synonymous with empowering others, particularly through her iconic music, but now she has extended that reputation to another successful venture: the Strength of a Woman Festival. This year, the atlanta event He made upliftment, education and empowerment the number one goal in every facet of the four-day event (May 11-14), from a stirring Mother’s Day brunch and extravagant house dance to lively celebrity-led concerts. . But that mission was most evident during Blige’s thoughtful summit held May 13 at AmericasMart, where the stars came together to share wisdom on entrepreneurship, business, health, wellness and more with festival-goers on behalf of unity.

Walking into the building, decked out with all sorts of cool activations, booths, and vibrant pink decor, was like walking into a family meeting. Well-known figures and attendees, both experienced and young, came together in one space with the aim of creating genuine connections and spreading a wealth of knowledge. As a black woman, she felt reassuring to be around people who looked like me. And to think that the event itself is only in its second year.

Backstage at the event, Blige told POPSUGAR how amazing it’s been to watch her festival and summit grow from humble beginnings as a simple idea hatched on a hotel rooftop. “It’s amazing. It’s surreal because it was an idea we had two or three years ago, me and my team, and now it’s here,” the R&B icon explained. “He went from being a gathering on the rooftop of the Waldorf Astoria in Los Angeles to this, so it means a lot that he’s here.”

Curated by Blige and Ayars Agency founder Ashaunna Ayars, in association with Pepsi and Live Nation Urban, the Strength of a Woman Summit consisted of panel discussions and programming that highlighted the beauty of community among women. The all-day event was led by some of the most influential black voices in various industries, including but not limited to stars like Blige, Ciara, Marsai Martin, Angelica Ross and more, and they all had something powerful to give.

During Martin’s fireside chat with other panelists gail bean, Brandee Evans, Raven Goodwin and Mara Brock Akil, the 18-year-old actress and producer, spoke about the power she discovered in telling Black stories on screen. “I’m constantly growing. I started with ‘Black-ish’ when I was 9 years old… now, to be able to create my own content and hire and fire people, to be able to create the projects of my dreamsmy strategy and my plan are the best compliments I could have in my life,” he shared.

Elsewhere, the summit was filled with more poignant moments, like when Blige graced the panel stage and was greeted by audience members lovingly singing the lyrics to her hit song “Just Fine.” Shortly after, the singer and Star of “Power Book II: Ghost” shared the inspiration behind his festival with the crowd. “The thought process came from performing and seeing the women in the audience love and respect me, and love how my music has done so much for them,” Blige explained. “My music is a movement that has touched so many women and saved so many lives, so the summit is about that; what music has done, uplifting, uplifting, inspiring and bringing us all together to love one another.”

Blige’s soulful intentions behind the second The Force of a Woman event were evident in each and every setup; even the stars themselves were amazed at the end result. Speaking to POPSUGAR ahead of his panel, Bean described being a part of Blige’s festival this year, saying, “My God, it feels good.” The “Snowfall” and “P-Valley” star added: “It feels like old Atlanta. We talk about old Atlanta and new Atlanta, so to see all the black people come out, celebrate it, love, success, a good time. , all the good things about Atlanta.”

As for Blige being the face of the Strength of a Woman festival, Bean said, “Mary is he woman who has overcome everything. So to be able to see her standing here, resplendent, celebrating, putting something on, and throwing herself back at us women, just lets you know, one thing: redemption is real. Two: Black is undefeated. So it’s kind of a harbinger of what my future could look like because representation matters.”

In fact it does, and Blige couldn’t be a more perfect figure to represent the strength of a woman. This year’s summit was a test.