It was a celebratory night when the 20th anniversary of the BET Awards were broadcast nationally in the U.S. for the first time in its 20-year history, simulcast on CBS and BET, but the virtual awards show also brought awareness to the anti-Black racism movement, police brutality and violence against BIPOC, while handing out trophies to deserving artists like Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch.Lizzo, who was nominated in four categories heading into the night, took home the trophy for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, winning out over Beyoncé and H.E.R. in the process. Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion was named the Best Female Hip Hop Artist and she also took home the Viewers Choice Award for “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Nicki Minaj and
performed two tracks during the show. And as for 21-year-old Roddy Ricch? Well “The Box” performer had a winning night when he was named Best New Artist while also taking home Album of the Year for
Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial.[video_embed id='1985078']RELATED: Beyoncé to receive humanitarian honour at BET Awards[/video_embed]Overall there were 21 categories presented throughout the festivities, hosted by comedian and
Insecure actress Amanda Seales, with winners voted on by fans and a group of entertainment pros. Seales also infused her monologues and intros with commentary about the fight to end police brutality and systemic racism in her singular way."Now, folks always say, 'All Amanda ever does it talk about race,'" Seales said at
the top of the show. "Well listen, I would love to talk about regular, everyday things, but racism always beats me to it. For instance, candy. Who don't like candy? But whenever I try to talk about Skittles, I remember Trayvon Martin. I would love to talk about ice cream. It's a delicious treat. But each time I do, I am reminded of
Botham Jean. Who doesn't appreciate some shut-eye? Man, I had a nap in 2015 that was so good it felt like Black Jesus tucked me in. I still talk about it to this day. But that's a wrap. Because now I can't even dream of speaking about sleeping knowing
Breonna Taylor's killers have not been arrested. When I said, 'I don't got the time, I'm on my trampoline,' I meant it, 'cause give it a minute, and racism gonna take the bounce of that, too."
Insecure creator and lead Issa Rae took home an award for Best Actress, Michael B. Jordan was named Best Actor,
Queen & Slim was crowned the Best Movie, and Migos took home hardware for Best Group.Beyoncé, who picked up the previously-announced
Humanitarian Award, also got a nice surprise when she and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter won the BET HER Award for their “Brown Skin Girl” collaboration, making Blue Ivy the youngest-ever BET Award winner at just eight years old. Queen Bey used her acceptance speech, introduced by Michelle Obama, as a call for viewers to exercise their civic duty to make real change. "Your voices are being heard and you're proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain," Beyoncé said and dedicated the Humanitarian Award to the the Black Lives Matter protesters.
She wasn’t the only one calling attention to the BLM movement. DaBaby added a new intro to his track “Rockstar” and the accompanying video started with a close-up of his face against the pavement. As the cameras pulled back, viewers could see a police officer with his knee on DaBaby’s neck in a reference to the killing of George Floyd.
During Alicia Keys'
first live performance of her track "Perfect Way to Die," about a mother finding out her son has died at the hands of police, she sang at a piano on an empty street and when the cameras panned out at the end of the tune, there was a list of names of Black men and women who had been killed in police custody written on the pavement.Chloe x Halle, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Lil Wayne, Roddy Ricch, SiR, Summer Walker, Usher, Anderson .Paak and Wayne Brady also made appearances on the show[video_embed id='1973107']BEFORE YOU GO: Michael B. Jordan wants Hollywood to 'commit to Black hiring'[/video_embed]
