Black Women Are An Experience

On June 28th, 2023, blackbyrd intiative held its 2nd anniversary celebration, hosted by founder/CEO Shanize Byrd, where we honored and celebrated nine Black women/femmes for their outstanding work and leadership as entrepreneurs, community organizers, creatives & philanthropists. This year's theme was a "A Legacy Love", which was a special tribute to Shanize's late grandmother, Nezeree Ragins. "When I created blackbyrd initiative, I wanted every corner of its identity to be a love letter to Black women/femmes. I chose May 11th, my grandmother's birthday, as the founding date because I wanted to hold space for her legacy. as a caregiver to her community" We also honored Candice "Divine" Henderson with our 2023 Fly Award for her tremendous leadership in restoring a historical landmark, Friends of the Freedom House, that once served as a safe house for civil rights leaders in 1960s.