Mary J. Blige Brings the Strength of a Woman Festival Home to NYC

Grammy-award-winning artist Mary J. Blige hosted the third Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in New York City this weekend. The multi-hyphenate partnered with Pepsi and Live Nation Urban to bring the weekend of empowering speakers and musical performances to life. 

Named after her 2017 studio album, Blige founded the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in 2022 as a way to empower women in underrepresented communities. Each year, the event features a series of speakers and panel discussions in addition to musical performances headlined by Blige. This year’s panels spanned topics from navigating mental health in the Black community to wealth-building strategies to achieve financial freedom. Some of the notable speakers and panelists included actress Taraji P. Henson, image architect and designer Misa Hylton, founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan Pinky Cole Hayes, and radio personality Angie Martinez, with opening remarks from comedian Jess Hilarious. 

The musical performances were equally star-studded. The program began with two performances by 5-time Grammy-award-winner Robert Glasper at Blue Note, a legendary jazz club in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, on May 10.

Blige’s performance at Barclays Center in Brooklyn the next day featured appearances by 50 Cent, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Funk Flex, and Lola Brooke. 

While the event has typically been held in Atlanta, Georgia, Blige brought this year’s weekend of fun and dancery to her hometown. “Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire and build within my community is the reason I created this festival,” Blige, who is from the Bronx, said in a press release ahead of this year’s event. “Nobody does it like New York, so get ready.” 

“Nobody does it like New York, so get ready.”

The event also kept local Black-owned businesses at the forefront throughout the weekend, utilizing Pepsi’s Dig In program to provide catering from five businesses owned by Black women including Slutty Vegan, Melba’s, and Je T’aime Pâtisserie. 

And the event’s impact didn’t stop there. In late April, Pepsi announced in a press release that it would be launching the Pepsi x Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman Community Fund, a fund to support Yonkers-based non-profit organizations whose work elevates underserved or marginalized women in the area. 

“Being able to come home to Yonkers to give back to and invest in the community I grew up in is all I’ve ever wanted,” Blige shared in the press release. “We hope to provide resources for local organizations striving to support and uplift women for even greater impact this year.”

See more photos from the event below!