Beyoncé used her platform Sunday while accepting the BET humanitarian award to relay a direct appeal to viewers: Go vote.  “Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain,” said the superstar singer at the BET Awards, which celebrated its 20 years of highlighting excellence in Black-led entertainment. But the ceremony, filmed virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, kept much of its focus on topics such as systematic racism and equal rights. Beyoncé was honored for her philanthropic work and relief efforts during the COVID-19 crisis. She said voting in the upcoming election was the way to end a “racist and unequal system” in America. “I’m encouraging you to take action,” she said following an introduction by former first lady Michelle Obama.  The singer dedicated her award to the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraged activists to continue to push forward.  “We have to vote like our lives depend on it, because it does,” she said. Here are some additional highlights from the three-hour show broadcast on CBS, BET and BET Her.  DaBaby’s message Rapper DaBaby lay on the pavement while an actor playing a police officer pressed his knee on the rapper’s neck. FILE – DaBaby arrives at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.The reenactment at the beginning of the multi-platinum rapper’s performance offered a glimpse into the last moments of the  life of George Floyd, killed by Minneapolis police last month. DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song “Rockstar” with Roddy Ricch at the awards. While holding a baseball bat, DaBaby then stood on a stage behind a group of people who had their fists raised high while others held “Black Lives Matter” signs.  His performance also featured images from protests, a reflection of the current world in the wake of Floyd’s death and the deaths of others, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Weezy honors Kobe On a virtual stage, Lil Wayne paid tribute to the Black Mamba. FILE – Lil Wayne and Chance the Rapper perform during halftime of the NBA All-Star basketball game, Feb. 16, 2020, in Chicago.The rapper honored the late Kobe Bryant with a performance of his song “Kobe Bryant,” highlighting the NBA icon’s biggest moments. He paid tribute to Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in January that killed eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Wayne weaved in new lyrics as Bryant’s No. 8 and 24 flashed behind him. His performance showed video clips of the Los Angeles Lakers star dunking on Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, hitting game-winning shots and highlights from his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. “I call him King Bryant,” Wayne rapped. “Now let the crown show.” Little Richard bop  Wayne Brady transformed from his normal actor-comedian self into the flamboyant character of the late Little Richard.  Wearing a gold glittery tuxedo, Brady put on his best emulation during a tribute to Richard, who died of bone cancer in May. He rolled around on the top of a piano as he sung a medley hits from Richard, considered one of the chief architects of rock ‘n’ roll.  “Shut up!” Brady blurted out in the same manner as Richard. Some of Richard’s hits Wayne performed included “Lucy,” “Good Golly,” “Miss Molly” and “Tutti Frutti.” Mad Stallion  Megan Thee Stallion took to the desert in a performance themed after the “Mad Max” films. Sporting a feathered crop top, she danced and twerked alongside her dancers who wore masks and maintained social distance amid the coronavirus pandemic. She performed her Beyoncé-assisted hit “Savage Remix” and “Girls in the Hood,” a revamp of Easy E’s 1987 song “Boyz-N-The Hood.” In the post-apocalyptic setting, she and her dancers rode through the desert landscape on dusty ATVs. The rapper closed out her performance after jumping on a silver-spike vehicle.  Megan Thee Stallion’s performance came after she won best female hip-hop artist.  Stirring opening  It didn’t take long for host Amanda Seales to touch on equal rights for African Americans. FILE – Amanda Seales arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Harriet” at the Orpheum Theatre, Oct. 29, 2019.In a stirring monologue, Seales said she was chosen to host the show because she’s been “telling y’all everybody’s racist.” She touched on several topics including the death of Breonna Taylor, racial equality and took a jab at actor Terry Crews who faced recent backlash for his “Black supremacy” comment. Seales joked she would rather talk about issues other than race, but “racism always beats me to it.” Her monologue came after an all-star performance of Public Enemy’s 1989 anthem “Fight the Power.” The performance featured group members Chuck D and Flavor Flav along with Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody and YG — who added lyrics to the song and name-dropped Taylor.  During the performance, video clips were shown of the national protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people including Floyd, Arbery and Taylor.  The 12-year-old sensation Keedron Bryant  also performed in a cappella “I Just Wanna Live,” a song about being a young black man that earned him a record deal. 
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Performing as a police officer pressed his knee on his neck, replicating the last moments of George Floyd’s life, multi-platinum rapper DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song “Rockstar” at the BET Awards. Sunday’s show, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic, featured a number of highly produced, well-crafted and pre-taped performances. DaBaby’s clip, featuring Roddy Ricch, also featured images from protests, a reflection of the current world in the wake of Floyd’s death and the death of others, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. The BET Awards, celebrating its 20th anniversary, kicked off Sunday with a performance featuring Black artists rapping and singing anthems about the Black experience and fighting for equal rights. The 12-year-old sensation Keedron Bryant, who turned heads on social media with his passionate performance about being a young Black man in today’s world, started the show with an a cappella performance of his poignant song “I Just Wanna Live,” which earned him a record deal. That was followed by an all-star performance of Public Enemy’s 1989 anthem “Fight the Power,” featuring Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody and YG adding new lyrics to the song, even namedropping Taylor and others. Chuck D kicked off the performance, replacing the year 1989 with 2020. “Fight the Power” topped the Billboard rap charts more three decades ago and was featured in Spike Lee’s epic “Do the Right Thing.” Flavor Flav, Questlove and Black Thought and Chuck D’s artist Jahi were also part of the performance. Sunday’s show also celebrates BET’s 40th year as a network. The three-hour show, airing on CBS for the first time, is being hosted by comedian, actress and TV personality Amanda Seales, who starred in several skits, including one about women who identify as “Karen,” a common stereotype and term for racist and privileged white women. Other artists were political during their performances, including Ricch, who wore a Black Lives Matter shirt while he rapped, Alicia Keys, Anderson Paak and Jay Rock, as well as brothers SiR and D Smoke, who performed with their mother Jackie Gouché. Lil Wayne paid tribute to NBA icon Kobe Bryant, who died in January, with a performance of his 2009 song “Kobe Bryant,” weaving in new lyrics. Wayne Brady, in a glittery suit, rolled around on top of a piano as he sang a medley of Little Richard hits. Nipsey Hussle, who was named best male hip-hop artist and earned the humanitarian award at last year’s BET Awards, won video of the year for “Higher,” a clip he filmed with DJ Khaled and John Legend shortly before he died.Guests wear T-shirts in tribute to Nipsey Hussle, whose given name was Ermias Asghedom, at the late rapper’s Celebration of Life memorial service, April 11, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.“This is for Nipsey Hussle and hip-hop,” Khaled said in a taped video. “Nipsey Hussle, thank you for working with me on this ‘Higher’ record. I appreciate you. Nipsey’s family, we love you.” The BET Awards, one of the first awards shows to air virtually, featured performances that were sharp with artsy stage production, giving extra life to the songs being performed. It was a welcomed break from the “living room” and homebound performances hundreds of artists have shared on social media since the pandemic hit in March. Megan Thee Stallion went to the desert with background dancers as she twerked and rapped her No. 1 hit “Savage.” She won best female hip-hop artist, beating out Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. “Oh my God, I probably recorded this video like 10 times. It feels so crazy doing this from my house,” she said. “I used to watch the BET Awards all the time thinking, ‘One day that’s going to be me going up there accepting my award’ — and now it is.” Later in the show Beyoncé will earn the humanitarian award, to be presented by Michelle Obama. The show is an annual celebration of Black entertainment and culture, and this year’s ceremony is the first major awards show since the May 25 death of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, which sparked global protests aimed at reforming police actions and removing statues and symbols considered racist from public places. 
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In the latest move to change place names in light of U.S. racial history, leaders of Orange County’s Democratic Party are pushing to drop film legend John Wayne’s name, statue and other likenesses from the county’s airport because of his racist and bigoted comments.The Los Angeles Times reported  that earlier this week, officials passed an emergency resolution condemning Wayne’s “racist and bigoted statements” made in a 1971 interview and are calling on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to drop his name, statue and other likenesses from the international airport.The resolution asked the board “to restore its original name: Orange County Airport.”“There have been past efforts to get this done and now we’re putting our name and our backing into this to make sure there is a name change,” said Ada Briceno, chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County.According to those who crafted the resolution, the effort to oust Wayne, a longtime resident of Orange County who died in 1979, is part of “a national movement to remove white supremacist symbols and names (that are) reshaping American institutions, monuments, businesses, nonprofits, sports leagues and teams.”In a 1971 Playboy magazine interview, Wayne makes bigoted statements against Black people, Native Americans and the LGBTQ community.He said, “I believe in white supremacy until the Blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”Wayne also said that although he didn’t condone slavery, “I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves.”The actor said he felt no remorse in the subjugation of Native Americans.“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. . (O)ur so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival,” he said. “There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”Wayne also called movies such as “Easy Rider” and “Midnight Cowboy” perverted and used a gay slur to refer to the two main characters of the latter film.Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner told the Times that he had just heard about the Democratic resolution and was unaware of its wording or merit. 
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