There’s no such thing as one lane as Beverly Bond is proof that you can do it all.
As a former model and DJ, Beverly Bond has always defied odds and showcased her talents without limitations for the world to see. However, her long list of achievements doesn’t stop there. She also created the award-winning global women’s empowerment brand, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! (BGR) For years, the brand has highlighted Black women doing amazing things — even highlighting some of our favorites during the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards that previously aired on BET.
With the pandemic changing the way that we push the culture forward, Bond is also taking on the life of BGR through a new lens in partnership with Culture Genesis, a Los Angeles-based media-tech company.
“In this time series where everything is moving to a digital space, we just needed a way to figure out how to reach our audience. We have a lot of followers on social media and the partnership with Culture Genesis will help us to actually activate and reach that audience. So, it was a natural evolution for the brand,” Beverly Bond told AfroTech.
Beverly Bond continued: “We started off doing the award show locally in New York City and then went on to television, which elevated our brand and the visibility of BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, but it still wasn’t the activation of the awards and our nonprofit wasn’t enough to keep people engaged year-long as we’d hoped. So this was just an opportunity for us to continuously be in touch with our audience and really provide more content for them.”
BGR!TV
The new partnership includes the launch of the platform’s omnichannel digital-media network which will include the BGR OTT streaming platform as well as content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, as well as other digital media.
“There’s been a need and demand for more BGR content and although a lot of people have picked up the baton to continue to grow many spaces for Black women, we also want to continue to do that work in a bigger way,” said Bond. “The other beautiful part about BGR being able to grow as its own brand is that although we lived on television, a lot of people did not recognize that BGR was its own brand and I think launching in partnership with Culture Genesis is kind of letting the world know that we are open for business as our own brand. I didn’t realize how many people didn’t realize we were our own brand, which I think is also like my quiet nature and wanting to do more than I show. I realized we weren’t telling our story loud enough.”
Bridging The Gap
Working alongside Culture Genesis to use technology to bring BGR fans more content is a win-win situation for Bond, who says that it’ll give them the push they need to reach more people.
“What’s beautiful about partnering with them is that they’re not partnering with everybody,” said Bond. ”A Brand like BGR gives them the opportunity to use their machine and do this work for us. So, it’s exciting to be able to have someone that has an audience of like 20 million-plus and I think that we are coming into this space as a pretty well-known brand, so it’ll amplify what we’re already doing. I think the partnership also helps them as they continue to work alongside Black-owned businesses that are doing amazing work.”
Empowering Black Women
Since its inception in 2006, BGR has been a safe space for Black women of all shapes, sizes, and hues.
“It’s important for all girls to feel empowered, and I say all because no matter what, they should be empowered, they should feel okay, but what’s not okay is to feel that because of the skin you’re born into or the hair that you have on your head, that you’re less than because of what society projects onto you,” Bond emphasized. “We have been living with that for so long and BGR is only one fraction of the change and the empowerment needed to undo years and years of damage. It’s such a beautiful thing to see these young, Black girls understanding and loving being Black, loving their hair, loving who they are.”
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