Winning Play$: Black Women, Feminism, & Empowerment was held Monday, June 26th 2017 at the Paley Center for Media in New York City.
Financial journalist, author and founder of the award-winning Winning Play$ financial education program Stacey Tisdale, along with an all-star panel, changed the conversation about black women from one of underdogs, to one of a story of resilience that all people, regardless of gender can learn from.
Panelists for the evening included: Gloria Steinem, feminist icon, author, and activist; Carol Jenkins, award-winning journalist, writer, producer, and activist; Angela Yee, iheartmedia, Power 105.1 FM, and Breakfast Club host; Grace Vandecruze, Founder, and Managing Director, Grace Capital LLC; and Rianka Dorsainvil, President, and Founder of Your Greatest Contribution for Millennials. Tisdale served as moderator of the panel. Michelle Miller, CBS News Correspondent, was the mistress of ceremonies.
Stacey Tisdale pointed out that despite the fact that black women only earn 64 cents for every dollar that white males make, black women have transcended socio economic limitations, and are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem stated that she learned about feminism from black women including such activists as Angela Davis and Alice Walker.
Breakfast Club host Angela Yee noted that the modern day feminist movement needs to reflect the diversity of all women, including their social and economic positions.
Other panelists, including Carol Jenkins, Grace Vandecruze, and Rianka Dorsainvil, touched on the ways in which immigrants and millennials experience the modern day feminist movement.
Among the guests for the sold-out event was the legendary Susan Taylor, former editor-in-chief of Essence
magazine, and founder of the National CARES Mentoring Movement campaign aimed at empowering women and children of color.
The event launched a national social media campaign in which Tisdale’s financial education program Winning Play$ will reach out to youth and communities around the country to empower them with financial skills and knowledge, building on the evening’s flexions of how black women have empowered themselves.
Content from the event can be viewed beginning June 27 on Grio.com, which is owned by Entertainment Studios CEO Byron Allen and has an audience of over 11 million.
The Grio, which means storyteller in Africa, is a digital video-centric news community platform providing compelling stories and perspectives. They focus on breaking news, opinion, entertainment, health, sports, business, politics and events that have an interest and/or pronounced impact within the African American community.
“Conversations have the power to transform,” says Tisdale. The discussion these amazing women had will open minds, open hearts, and inspire millions of people at a time when far too many in the United States are focusing on our differences and perceived limitations. "
This year Winning Play$ honored Justin Tuck, and his wife Lauran with the “Game Changers Award”, for their ongoing efforts to make young people financially literate through their R.U.S.H. For Literacy Foundation.
There was also a special performance by the iconic alternative rock, and R&B trio BETTY.
