BET Celebrates Juneteenth and the Resilience of the African American Spirit With a Curated Compilation of Uplifting Long and Short-form Content Under Its ‘Content for Change’ Initiative

BET will commemorate ‘Juneteenth’ with inspirational films, music videos, and a special interstitial Manifesto campaign featuring messages of hope from top Black talent, thought leaders, and change agents pledging our collective commitment to freedom, liberation, and joy starting Saturday, June 19, at Noon ET/PT

#JuneteenthOnBET #FreedomDayMarathon

NEW YORK--()--BET celebrates Juneteenth with a curated programming slate under its “Content For Change” initiative that honors the resilience of the African American spirit and the promise of powerful Black futures. Starting at Noon ET/PT, the network will showcase Black achievement across all platforms and will celebrate the national commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the United States with social justice-themed episodes of series, inspirational films and short-form content. Additionally, BET will launch a special interstitial Manifesto campaign and deliver messages of inspirations featuring top Black talent, thought leaders, and change agents pledging our collective commitment to freedom, liberation, and joy including Principal of Black Future Lab Alicia Garza, Recording Artist Anthony Hamilton, Author and Associate Professor at Rutgers University Brittney Cooper, NASCAR Professional race car driver Bubba Wallace, “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living” star Courtney Nichole, “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” star Crystal Renee’ Hayslett, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living” star J. Anthony Brown, BET News correspondent and Journalist Marc Lamont Hill, Actress and Activist MJ Rodriguez, “The Ms. Pat Show” on BET+ star PatriciaMs. Pat’ Williams, “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living” star Na’im Lynn, “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” star Novi Brown, acclaimed Director Reginald Hudlin, award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien, Recording artist Stokley and Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Harris.

BET’s Freedom Day Manifesto

Juneteenth is our day of celebration.
No matter the zip code,
No matter who we love or how we show up.
No matter our age, gender, faith…
We are one.
Today, we celebrate the collective liberation of Black People.
Our spirit has always been free,
Our perseverance remains unmatched.
Black is beautiful.
Black is brilliant.
Black is bold.
We will exercise our power.
We will dream bigger.
We honor ourselves every day…
On this Juneteenth, we show each other extra love
And celebrate the freedom, that is our birthright.
Happy Juneteenth!
From our family to yours.
We celebrate Juneteenth. This year and always.

Watch and share the manifesto interstitial by clicking on the link below:
https://ql.mediasilo.com/ql/60cb60efd53979164afd254b

Exclusive messages of hope examining the legacy of ‘Juneteenth” across platforms will include:

Programming line-up celebrating the holiday includes:

On BET:

  • Noon*- “BLACK-ISH” (Social Justice and Family-themed episodes)
  • 5 PM*- “ALI”
  • 9 PM-11 PM* – “QUEEN COLLECTIVE” (More about this series below)
  • 11 PM* – “PASS THE MIC”
    *
    All Times ET/PT

About The “Queen Collective,” P&G’s signature multicultural talent development initiative in partnership with Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios, continues to accelerate gender and racial equality behind the camera, by opening doors to the next generation of up-and-coming Black women directors, as it returns to the Tribeca Festival for a third year.

The mentoring and talent development program is designed to give women filmmakers of color a platform to share important stories from their unique perspective with the aim of expanding the creative pipeline for Black female creators. Created by four diverse young female directors including Arielle Knight, Tina Charles, Cai Thomas, Haimy Assefa, and premiering at Tribeca on Thursday June 17th, these unique documentaries shine a light on important issues directly impacting the black community such as health care, bias and discrimination.

Tune into BET and BET Her on Saturday, June 19, 2021 to watch the full Queen Collective program at 9:00 pm ET/PT, with an encore on Sunday, June 20 at 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm ET/PT on BET Her. For more information go to BET.com/queencollectivefilms.

Watch and share the Juneteenth programming promo by clicking on the link below:
https://app.shift.io/review/60c798e11d531606b2835804

On BET Her:

  • 9 AM*- “GIRLFRIENDS” (Family-themed episodes)
  • 6 PM*- “Miss Juneteenth”
  • 9 PM-11 PM* – “QUEEN COLLECTIVE” (Episodes 201-204 to simulcast with BET Her) #QueenCollective
  • 11 PM* – “PASS THE MIC”
    *
    All Times ET/PT

On BET+ :

BET+, the premium streaming service for the Black community is capturing the spirit of the holiday by showcasing Black culture through the stories that celebrate family, love, laughter and Black excellence. Some of the nostalgic, feel-good content now streaming on BET+ include:

  • All the Way Black
  • Always a Bridesmaid
  • Bigger
  • Boomerang
  • Diggstown
  • First Wives Club
  • The Jamie Foxx Show
  • Madiba
  • Martin
  • Miss Juneteenth
  • The New Edition Story
  • Tyler Perry’s Bruh

On BET Digital:

Go to BET.com starting on Friday, June 18 for:

  • Op/ED: Juneteenth Is An Opportunity To Remember The Fight Against Voter Suppression.
  • Op/ED: Why Juneteenth Is More Than Just A Day Off – Provided in partnership with Color Of Change
  • VIDEO: What Is Juneteenth? 5 Fascinating Facts About the Soon To Be Federal Holiday

Go to BET.com Saturday, June 19 (Juneteenth) for:

  • Q&A: An interview with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed on her new book, “On Juneteenth”.
  • Article: 5 Juneteenth festivals across the country to help you celebrate the day.
  • Article: 10 Movies To Watch In Honor Of Juneteenth

About “Content For Change”
Content for Change is a $25 million initiative from BET and ViacomCBS Inc. anchored in the principle that media—storytelling, news, information and commercials—plays a pivotal role in shaping and driving individuals’ and communities’ values, perceptions and actions. Content for Change seeks to support the elimination of systemic racism and racial inequities in America through the creation, distribution, marketing and promotion of content that is specifically designed to positively impact perception, understanding and engagement. This expansive effort is designed to improve social outcomes for Black Americans, with areas of focus including racial justice, economic empowerment, education, health and civic participation.

For more information visit BET.com and join the conversation using the hashtag #JuneteenthOnBET.

About BET

BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

About BET+:

BET+, a joint venture between BET and Tyler Perry Studios, is the leading streaming service for the Black community. With thousands of hours of hit movies, TV shows, stand-up specials, stage plays and more, BET+ offers the best of Black culture, including exclusive originals from best-in-class creators like Tracy Oliver’s First Wives Club, Tyler Perry’s Ruthless and Bruh, Carl Weber’s The Family Business and Sacrifice and Will Packer’s Bigger, to name a few. BET+ members can watch as much as they want anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen and always commercial-free. Visit BET.Plus to learn more and follow @BETPlus for the latest news and updates.

Contacts

Luis Defrank
Luis.defrank@bet.net