The BET Awards 2016: A mix of racial politics and Prince tributes

The Black Entertainment Television or BET awards are used to felicitate African Americans and other minorities in the fields of music, sports, acting and other fields of entertainment. The annual awards took place this Sunday on June 26th and featured heavily politicised messages from famous celebrities with a memorable acceptance speech by Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams as its centerpiece and too many Prince tributes to count. Here are a few highlights from the award show: Tribute Time [caption id=“attachment_2861032” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Jennifer Hudson performing “Purple Rain”
Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] Many performers paid tribute to the multifaceted Prince, but the highlight of the night was Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “Purple Rain” with  Stevie Wonder that was as emotional as it was beautiful. The Roots, Bilal and Sheila E., Prince’s longtime friend and collaborator performed tributes to Prince too. There was a small and a moving tribute to another cultural icon – Muhammad Ali – with a moving speech by his daughter, Laila Ali, who is also a retired boxer. Performances Galore [caption id=“attachment_2861018” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Beyonce during her Freedom performance
Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] A barefoot Beyonce was joined in by  Kendrick Lamar who opened the award show with her new song “Freedom”. Also award show favourite Usher delivered a stellar performance of his single “No Limit”. Also noteworthy was Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson who reenacted “Hamilton” hilariously. Politics took a c****enter stage [caption id=“attachment_2861010” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Samuel L. Jackson accpeting his Lifetime Achievement award
Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] Samuel L. Jackson, who received the BET Lifetime Achievement award this year forewarned his fans about the consequences of voting for Trump. Celebrities were outspoken for their dislike for the Republican candidate and made statements against voting for him. Best actress winner Taraji P.Henson also called out Trump in her acceptance speech by saying, “I’m really not political, but it’s serious out here, and for those that think, ‘Oh, he’s not gonna win,’ think again”. Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse William’s acceptance speech was definitely the most talked about the next day – the actor and social activist spoke about racial discrimination, social justice for African Americans and cultural appropriation. In summary, the show was one of the most political BET awards because of the upcoming elections, and though racial issues were discussed, there was surprisingly little conversation about Hollywood’s whitewashing debate that had gripped the country during the Oscars this year.