Mastercard and Jennifer Hudson Partner to Celebrate Black Women Business Owners with Strivers Celebration and Historic Performance at Apollo Theater
August 03 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Event series to include sponsorship of the
Respect premiere, special appearance by Jennifer Hudson at Strivers
Celebration and intimate Apollo Theater performance
In honor of Black Business Month, Mastercard is announcing a
series of celebratory events in partnership with Mastercard
ambassador, Jennifer Hudson, to acknowledge and reinforce the
impact of Black women entrepreneurs across the U.S. The celebration
is anticipated to kick off with the premiere of the long-awaited
Aretha Franklin feature film Respect and continue with a Strivers
Celebration event, and special concert by Jennifer Hudson at the
World Famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC.
Respect Movie Premiere
Mastercard is providing a limited number of cardholders with
special access to the red carpet premiere of Respect at the Regency
Village Theater ahead of the film's global release on August 13th
to underscore the impact of Black women in business and music.
During the event, these select cardholders will be among the stars
as they arrive at the historic venue before taking their seats as
the first audience to view the film. Cardholders can visit
Priceless.com here to purchase this one-of-a-kind experience while
supply lasts, with 100% of sales benefiting Fearless Fund, a
venture capital fund built by women of color for women of color, to
further support funding for Black women entrepreneurs.
Rolling out the Red Carpet for Strivers
Mastercard, Fearless Fund and Create & Cultivate will host a
red carpet celebration to honor the entrepreneurs featured
throughout the Strivers Initiative at the Apollo Theater on August
18th. During the event Jennifer Hudson will make a special
appearance as Mastercard unveils the “Strivers Gallery” featuring
portraits of the guests of honor and Fearless Strivers Grant
Contest recipients. Chicago-based creator, Tyler Clark, will create
the portraits of the honorees using her unique 3D hair
technique.
"I'm excited to celebrate the Black-women owned business
entrepreneurs that Mastercard's Strivers Initiative spotlights both
at the event in their honor and at the intimate concert at the
Apollo. It's a dream come true to perform at the Apollo and an
honor to celebrate with Ms. Franklin's music, who has been an
inspiration to me my entire life,” Jennifer Hudson shared. “I
continue to be in awe of Black female role models who serve as
activists and advocates in their communities and I am thrilled,
through my partnership with Mastercard, to shine a light on
them."
Jennifer Hudson Live at the Apollo
Mastercard will present the “Jennifer Hudson Live at The Apollo”
concert on August 19th, the first live audience performance at the
Apollo Theater since March 2020. At this intimate gathering of
Black women entrepreneurs and select cardholders, Ms. Hudson will
perform classic Aretha Franklin hits featured in Respect as well as
songs from her own catalogue. Limited tickets are available for
purchase on Priceless.com here, with 100% of sales benefiting
Fearless Fund.
“Black women continue to build businesses at a rate far greater
than any other demographic, however in order to maintain and scale
their business, they need access to the funding and tools they
deserve,” said Cheryl Guerin, EVP Marketing and Communications in
North America for Mastercard. “Mastercard remains committed to
acknowledging the impact of Black women small business owners and
delivering on their needs to ensure they continue to thrive and
empower their communities. Together with Jennifer Hudson, we are
proud to celebrate and elevate these women through our Strivers
Initiative efforts.”
Supporting RESPECT Film
Mastercard is excited to team with Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) on
Respect, the long-awaited film starring Academy Award®-winner
Jennifer Hudson, who was handpicked by Ms. Franklin to portray her
on the big screen. Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career
from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her
international superstardom, Respect is the remarkable story of
Franklin’s journey to find her voice. Respect opens in-theatres
nationwide on Friday, August 13th.
Continuing to Support Strivers with Mentorship and
Resources
To further deliver on the needs of the community, Mastercard and
Create & Cultivate will launch its third season of “Priceless
Conversations: Strivers Edition” with weekly episodes focused on
business verticals across Beauty, Fashion, Wellness, and Food &
Bev – featuring industry expert conversations and virtual shopping
segments highlighting businesses to shop, share and support.
Mastercard will also provide cardholders a unique collection of
content and experiences curated by Black women-owned businesses on
its Priceless.com platform. To discover these Priceless experiences
and support these businesses go to priceless.com/local-biz.
These efforts are grounded in Mastercard’s sustained efforts to
build a more inclusive digital economy and previously announced
half-billion-dollar commitment to support Black communities over
the next five years. Through mastercard.com/smallbiz visitors can
learn more about this initiative, as well as shop Black-women owned
businesses and support their work.
About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments
industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital
economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions
safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks,
partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help
individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses
realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ,
drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our
company. With connections across more than 210 countries and
territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks
priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com
About Metro Goldwyn
Mayer
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) is a leading entertainment company
focused on the production and global distribution of film and
television content across all platforms. The company owns one of
the world's deepest libraries of premium film and television
content as well as the premium pay television network EPIX, which
is available throughout the U.S. via cable, satellite, telco, and
digital distributors. In addition, MGM has investments in numerous
other television channels, digital platforms, interactive ventures,
and is producing premium short-form content for distribution. For
more information, visit www.mgm.com.
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Media Contacts Sarah Ely sarah.ely@mastercard.com
(914)249-6714
Margaret Williams Margaret.williams@mastercard.com
(914)249-2926
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