Swaying palms wrapped in sparkling lights illuminated the Fort Lauderdale Harbor Resort sea side venue, my table aglow with the warm flicker of candles and smiles emanating from the attendees of the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit. Until this moment, I had never had such an opportunity to experience this diverse array of synergistic positive feminine energy. Smiles, laughter and embraces perfumed the air. New friends were made and old ones embraced with warmth and joy. This year boasted the largest attendance to date in Black Enterprise history with over 1000 women in attendance. The opening night was a "white carpet" event designed around purpose and pearls with a keynote speech delivered by Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of global Wealth at Morgan Stanley.
Many attendees whom I became acquainted with hailed from more frigid regions of the country. Countless women could be over heard telling familiar tales of flight delays, snowy departures and anxiety mixed with gratefulness that they even made it to the event at all. During story time and intermission I could feel the sea breeze as it blew gusts of wind over the masses. Suddenly the sky opened showering down an unexpected South Florida night rain. Everyone made a mad dash for cover; they quickly relocated inside.
The ladies continued to mingle in the lounge of the Harbor Beach Spa and Resort socializing and preparing for the next two days of inspiration, education and positive vibrations. I had the auditory pleasure of listening to eloquent, authentic and awe inspiring speakers such as Lisa Nichoals, Vernice "Fly Girl' Armour, Melody Hobson, Susan Taylor, Pam Grier, Star Jones, Judy Smith, Madeline McCray and many more. Their candid talks transcended scripts giving their words an air of genuineness. The event coordination team secured wholesome entertainment in the form of the female headlined comedy show "Hey Ladies" featuring Amberia Allen, Hadiyah Robinson and Zainab Johnson. The night culminated with a throw back world famous R&B group Boyz to Men. Boyz to Men sung memorable melodious words, taking me back to sing lyrics like "when love was strong" and "Mama you know I love you."
All of these heartfelt moments coalesced into a precious gem of an experience for me. The on time service delivery and the ambiance of the summit were superb, underscoring the intuitively in-sync production. The summit, staged March 2nd-5th marked the beginning of National Women's History Month and today I share this experience with my International sisterhood community in light of International Women's Day.
Over the course of time, the roles and relevance of women have become convoluted and the scales have been tipped, leaving the role of women less desirable. These day-long to month-long observances serve as a barometer to remind us about that which is so easy to forget. This month's observance exemplifies the fact that women are relevant and should be given respect for the part they play in society.
Social constructs of business, arts and education are areas in which women have left indelible marks. From this vantage point of the Women of Power summit, I can see more notable events to come. One such event on my agenda is one sponsored by CPR, The Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music. CPR will also be celebrating women with the International Women of Reggae or #IWOR, an all female reggae artist line up coming on the 25th of April. This star studded show will take place at the Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College in New York. As for the month of March, CPR will be running a month long social media campaign and tribute to women in reggae, highlighting their contributions and accomplishments.
For all of the organizations who have dedicated this time to remembering the importance of women, I extend a huge thank you as a daughter, sister, mother, wife and woman for creating a platform to encourage, innovate and educate the feminine principle.
