- What's up y'all.
I'm Melvin Gregg.
- And I'm Sam Jay.
And this is "Culture Can't be Canceled."
We are digging into the past 20 years and highlighting
the cultural moments that defined our community.
- [Announcer] First Oscar for Halle Berry.
- [Sam] And influence mainstream culture in a way
that only black excellence can.
- We are gonna have equal rights and justice
in our own country or we will restructure
their function and ours.
(cheering)
- [Sam] So far we've covered what's happened
from 2000 to 2015.
BET made it's move to The Big Apple and launched
the BET Awards.
- What is the definition of an icon?
- [Sam] Dedicated to honoring the greatest artists
of black entertainment.
- [Melvin] We chose to trail film a tragedy
to help our brothers and sisters recover
from Hurricane Katrina.
And let's not forget Obama's election
as the first black president.
We united our community to say
"Yes we can."
- And that brings us to our final years
of black excellence starting with 2016.
♪ Beautiful one ♪
♪ You always seem-- ♪
- [Melvin] On April 21st 2016 the world mourned Prince
as news spread about his shocking death
at his Paisley Park home in Minneapolis.
Prince was a quintessential performer, a gifted song writer,
a generous collaborator, and a musical genius
who played over 20 instruments.
Prince recorded 39 studio albums and won 7 Grammy's.
And there are estimates that he has 100s
of unreleased albums, music videos and films
that could keep him on the charts for decades.
Prince regularly gifted his songs to artists of all genres.
Who then took his tracks to number one on the charts.
- [Sam] While Prince's death marked the loss of one
of the most revolutionary artists in the history of music.
In 2017 a new revolution would be taking place.
- Stop the violence!
Stop the rape!
- [Sam] In 2017 the Me Too movement formed
by activist Tarana Burke took hold and gained momentum.
The Me Too movement became a call to action urging others
to share their stories of sexual harassment
and sexual abuse.
- What's going on in Hollywood I believe is solidarity.
It's what happened when all these women shared
their story and said
"Me too."
- [Sam] As female celebrities began to sound off on some
of the biggest names in Hollywood the demand
for justice grew.
Ultimately spawning the Times Up movement,
and a multi-billion dollar legal defense fund dedicated
to providing legal aid to the victims
of harassment and abuse.
- While the women in Hollywood had the world's attention
it was hard to ignore the game changing talent
of young black female creators such as Lena Waithe.
Who was the first African American woman to win
an Emmy for writing in a comedy series.
It is an undeniable fact that black woman have always
been a force to be reckoned with.
In 2018 black woman continued to showcase their presence
and power on the big screen.
And we stand for black sheroes.
Their black excellence was definitely on display
in "Black Panther."
- [Sam] A lot of Hollywood studios led us to believe
that movies featuring all black cast don't perform well.
"Black Panther" broke the box office.
And was the highest grossing super hero movie
in the US to date.
Director Ryan Coogler helmed not only a film
about afro-futurism,
but his work inspired black people around
the world to take pride
in their African heritage and ancestry.
- [Melvin] The film made history becoming
the first super hero flick ever to get
an Oscar nomination for best picture.
And it scored three Oscar wins including
the history making victory for Ruth Carter.
The first black woman to win an Academy Award
for costume design.
And Hannah Beachler the visual architect
of Wakanda who won for production design.
As "Black Panther" crossed color lines and broke barriers
in the film industry in 2018.
A lot of artists made waves
by being their authentic black selves in 2019.
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away ♪
- [Sam] In 2019 Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino's
"This is America"
video forced yet another discussion about race
and violence in the US.
Then Queen Bey submersed her fans in black culture
at Coachella with her HBCU themed two hour performance
leading to a documentary special
that received six Emmy nominations.
And Lizzo changed the face of black beauty
by promoting body positivity for women
of all shapes and sizes.
- All of these artists help push our culture forward
by using their platform to not only entertain,
but to enlighten their fans on
the black experience in America.
- 2020, where do we start.
- We're only six months in and we've already
been presented with devastating tragedy
and difficult challenges.
(piano music playing)
In January our hearts were broken as we received news
that NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi
both passed away in a fatal helicopter accident
which also took the lives of seven others.
After that accident stories emerged
about Kobe's loving commitment to his family.
- [Sam] He was grooming his daughter Gianna to be
the next great basketball player in their family.
Sports anchor Ella Duncan's story about Kobe's love
for his all female offspring inspired the hashtag Girldad.
Shortly after Kobe was laid to rest
the Coronavirus spread across the world
causing a global pandemic.
Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost to Covid-19.
And the black community has been hit the hardest in America.
- [Melvin] This crisis has further exposed
many socioeconomic inequalities impacted in black community.
Due to shortfalls in the American healthcare system
that have existed for decades black Americans
are more likely to die from the virus.
- [Sam] As we courageously socially distance and continue
to care for the sick people of all colors across
the globe have developed a new appreciation
for heroic first responders.
- But through it all we are transforming--
- And awakening.
- Realizing that we are always
- Stronger together.
(air whoosing)
But while we endured increased emotional, mental,
and sometimes physical stress.
D-Nice gave us somewhere to go
to forget our troubles and dance
"Club Quarantine."
- [Melvin] We definitely needed the release that
"Club Quarantine" gave us.
(dance music playing)
(dramatic sound plays)
But our harsh reality would show it's face
to us in another blow to our community.
The visor made of George Floyd at the hands
of police officers sparked international protests
and turned Black Lives Matter into a global movement.
- [Protestors] No peace!
Black lives matter, black lives matter.
- [Sam] The demands for justice continue to grow
and unite people all around the world.
People of all ages and races
are once again speaking out against racism.
There are calls for everything from defunding
the police department to reparations.
People are fighting daily to end police brutality
and systemic racism.
A new America is required.
One in which everyone finally recognizes
that black lives matter.
♪ Gonna stand up ♪
♪ Take my people with we ♪
Our culture built America.
- [Melvin] Our culture fuels America.
- [Sam] Our culture is America.
- We will not be silenced,
and our culture can never be canceled.
- [Sam] Let's stand up and celebrate our black heroes.
- [Melvin] With the 2020 BET Awards.
♪ Gonna keep on keeping on ♪