Beverly Bond talks how she started her celebrated mentoring program
How Black Girls Rock: An Interview with Beverly Bond
by Felicia Pride
You can only wish that all DJs were built like Beverly Bond. But it’s not just her ability to represent the best of the art form and move the crowd that makes her noteworthy. She’s also the founder of Black Girls Rock, a weekly mentoring program. Every Saturday, at the Scratch Academy in New York, Bond works to transform the lives of young girls and help them see their own worth and talent.
To help fund the program, Bond began organizing award shows to celebrate black girls and women who rock. This Sunday, November 7, BET will air the annual award show which will honor icons, influencers, and rising stars like Ruby Dee, Raven-Symoné, Missy Elliot, Keke Palmer, Teresa Clarke and Major General Marcelite Harris. Hosted by Nia Long, the show includes performances by Jill Scott, Marsha Ambrosius, Kelly Price and Ledisi among a plethora of appearances by black women of all stripes.
Here, Bond tells BackList about the beautiful struggle of building a meaningful, creative program that makes a difference.
BackList: What was the motivation behind Black Girls Rock?
Beverly Bond: There were conversations going on from several black women and others in black communities about not seeing the best of us represented. As a DJ, I pay a lot of attention to this from the lyrical content of music to how some guys perpetuate stereotypical images without realizing that they’re doing it. I feel like this was my calling—going from being a model to seeing girls in videos taking their clothes off and calling themselves models. As an empowered woman who knows that I carry my weight beyond my physical self, I didn’t feel like these were the right messages to send our young women.
BackList: What was the first step that you took?
BB: I had this idea to make a t-shirt that would feature the names of women who rock—black women in history, politics, and across the board. I started writing the names down. As I wrote and reviewed the list, I realized that it was bigger than a t-shirt. It was an affirmation. It had almost become acceptable to be picked on and objectified. All our girls need to hear and see that they’re special and they rock.
What did you do next?
BB: I had a big epiphany at one time. I decided to start a mentoring program to help young girls be inspired and to provide them with role models so they aren’t looking to scantily-clad vixens as the only people they could be.
I wrote my proposal, filed my 501(c)(3) and for my incorporation. I talked to different people who had mentoring programs. The process reminded me of when I first started spinning and people didn’t take me seriously because I was a model. Some people in the nonprofit world shunned me a little because they looked at me as a model turned DJ starting a nonprofit.
We launched in 2006 and did our first awards show in Brooklyn. We honored MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Joyce. DJ Premier and I spun. Joan Morgan was our keynote. It was amazing and empowering, so we followed with a second, third and fourth show. We stayed consistent with our mission to honor and celebrate black women.
How Black Girls Rock: An Interview with Beverly Bond
by Felicia Pride
You can only wish that all DJs were built like Beverly Bond. But it’s not just her ability to represent the best of the art form and move the crowd that makes her noteworthy. She’s also the founder of Black Girls Rock, a weekly mentoring program. Every Saturday, at the Scratch Academy in New York, Bond works to transform the lives of young girls and help them see their own worth and talent.
To help fund the program, Bond began organizing award shows to celebrate black girls and women who rock. This Sunday, November 7, BET will air the annual award show which will honor icons, influencers, and rising stars like Ruby Dee, Raven-Symoné, Missy Elliot, Keke Palmer, Teresa Clarke and Major General Marcelite Harris. Hosted by Nia Long, the show includes performances by Jill Scott, Marsha Ambrosius, Kelly Price and Ledisi among a plethora of appearances by black women of all stripes.
Here, Bond tells BackList about the beautiful struggle of building a meaningful, creative program that makes a difference.
BackList: What was the motivation behind Black Girls Rock?
Beverly Bond: There were conversations going on from several black women and others in black communities about not seeing the best of us represented. As a DJ, I pay a lot of attention to this from the lyrical content of music to how some guys perpetuate stereotypical images without realizing that they’re doing it. I feel like this was my calling—going from being a model to seeing girls in videos taking their clothes off and calling themselves models. As an empowered woman who knows that I carry my weight beyond my physical self, I didn’t feel like these were the right messages to send our young women.
BackList: What was the first step that you took?
BB: I had this idea to make a t-shirt that would feature the names of women who rock—black women in history, politics, and across the board. I started writing the names down. As I wrote and reviewed the list, I realized that it was bigger than a t-shirt. It was an affirmation. It had almost become acceptable to be picked on and objectified. All our girls need to hear and see that they’re special and they rock.
What did you do next?
BB: I had a big epiphany at one time. I decided to start a mentoring program to help young girls be inspired and to provide them with role models so they aren’t looking to scantily-clad vixens as the only people they could be.
I wrote my proposal, filed my 501(c)(3) and for my incorporation. I talked to different people who had mentoring programs. The process reminded me of when I first started spinning and people didn’t take me seriously because I was a model. Some people in the nonprofit world shunned me a little because they looked at me as a model turned DJ starting a nonprofit.
We launched in 2006 and did our first awards show in Brooklyn. We honored MC Lyte and DJ Jazzy Joyce. DJ Premier and I spun. Joan Morgan was our keynote. It was amazing and empowering, so we followed with a second, third and fourth show. We stayed consistent with our mission to honor and celebrate black women.
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