Living Legends Foundation 35th Anniversary Awards Dinner & Gala

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Living Legends Foundation 35th Anniversary Awards Dinner & Gala

Published on October 9, 2026 by Sonya's Spotlight

The Living Legends Foundation, Inc. celebrated a historic milestone Friday evening as music, entertainment, radio and media leaders gathered at Flourish by Legendary in Atlanta for the organization’s 35th Anniversary Awards Dinner & Gala.

For more than three decades, the Living Legends Foundation has championed the executives, broadcasters, entrepreneurs, advocates and visionaries whose work behind the scenes has helped shape the sound, business and global influence of Black music. With Chaka Khan serving as Honorary Ambassador and Q Parker as Honorary Gala Chair, the 35th anniversary served as both a celebration of this extraordinary legacy and a reminder of the nonprofit’s continued mission to honor the past, support industry professionals in the present and invest in the next generation of leaders.

“It has taken a moment to truly reflect on what it means to give 35 uninterrupted years of your life to something you believe in,” said David Linton, Chairman of the Living Legends Foundation. “Outside of my 45-year marriage, few things in my life have received that level of devotion. I thank God for allowing me the privilege of serving my industry family through the Living Legends Foundation and for the honor of serving as only the third Chairman in its 35-year history.”

Louis Carr, President of BET, received the prestigious Ray Harris Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his decades of leadership and influence across Black media, marketing and entertainment. Adding a special touch to the tribute, actress Porscha Coleman, star of BET+ and Paramount’s Tyler Perry’s Divorced Sistas, delivered a heartfelt message celebrating Carr and the impact of his leadership. As a current member of the BET family, Coleman’s tribute underscored the generational reach of Carr’s legacy and the opportunities his work has helped create for Black talent and storytellers across television and entertainment. Ray Harris, the award’s namesake, personally presented Carr with the honor, bringing added significance to the milestone moment.

Phylicia Fant, Global Director, Black Music + Culture at Amazon Music, received the Mike Bernardo Female Executive Award, presented by Honorary Gala Chair and founding member of 112, GRAMMY nominated singer Q Parker. The Black Promoters Collective received the A.D. Washington Chairman’s Award, presented by Chairman Linton, recognizing the collective’s impact on live entertainment and Black ownership. Atlanta radio icon Greg Street received the Frankie Crocker Radio Personality Award, presented by Board member Charita Brittenum, while Kenny Smoov former Vice President of Urban Programming for Cumulus Media, was honored with the Jerry Boulding Radio Executive Award, presented by Board member Colleen Wilson. Juliette Jones, COO of Alamo Records, received the Impact Player Award from LLF President Azim Rashid, and Tim Reid, former SVP of Repertoire & Marketing at BMG Recorded Music, received the Music Executive Award in a poignant moment presented by his father, acclaimed actor and filmmaker Tim Reid, Sr.

Ted Lucas, founder and CEO of Slip-N-Slide Records, was honored with the Hip-Hop Visionary Award, presented by Board member Ric Ross, while Video Music Box creator Ralph McDaniels received the Entrepreneur Award, presented by Board member Skip Dillard, celebrating his pioneering role in documenting and amplifying hip-hop culture. Rounding out the evening, entertainment attorney and ART@WAR Entertainment CEO James McMillan, Esq. received the Kendall Minter Entertainment Advocate Award, presented by former Motown Records President Kedar Massenburg, recognizing McMillan’s longstanding advocacy on behalf of artists and creative talent. Together, the honorees represent the Foundation’s 35-year mission to amplify the cultural architects whose work behind the scenes has helped shape Black music and entertainment.

From across generations, among those in attendance were Jacob Latimore, actor on The Chi and recording artist; Donell Jones, Grammy-nominated R&B singer, songwriter and producer; Porscha Coleman, actress on BET’s Divorced Sistas, television personality and host; Johnell Young, actor in Wu-Tang: An American Saga; Nicci Gilbert, singer, actress, producer and entrepreneur; Jessica Woo, digital creator and personality; Ragan Whiteside, contemporary jazz artist and radio personality; Tim Reid Sr., actor known for Sister, Sister & WKRP in Cincinnati; Daphne Maxwell Reid, actress known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; Pat “Sleepy” Brown and Ray Murray, Organized Noize Productions; Polow Da Don, music producer and entrepreneur; former NBA player Shannon Brown, Paul Anthony, singer and member of Full Force; and Stephen “S Dot” Green, actor.

Music and business leaders joining the celebration included Michael Mauldin, Unite Atlanta & Black American Music Assn., Wardell Malloy, BMI, Ron “Tricky” Montgomery, CEO of Tricky Bizness Entertainment; Jason “J.” Carter, founder of ONE Musicfest; Maurice “Moetown” Lee, co-founder and partner of ONE Musicfest; and Steve Canal, co-founder of One Venture Group.

The evening also welcomed influential voices in radio and media, including Steve Hegwood, owner of Streetz 94.5; Monica Barnes of The Steve Harvey Morning Show; Gary Wit Da Tea of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show; Jamal Ahmad of WCLK FM; and V-103’s Rick Caffey, Reggie Rouse, and personalities Francesca Amiker, Tori Starr and Skye Butterfli.

Founded in 1991, the Living Legends Foundation continues to preserve Black music history while supporting the people who helped create it and investing in those who will carry it forward.

The Living Legends Foundation proudly acknowledges the corporate partners and supporters whose investment helped make the milestone 35th Anniversary celebration possible. Sponsors include Alamo Records, Amazon Music, Universal Music Group, Anchor Promotions, BET, Black Promoters Collective, BMG, Fire Marshall Entertainment, Mauldin Brand, Vernon Brown/Cash Money, WVEE V103, Warner music Group, WCLK Radio, Republic Records, CineFi, Rolling Out and Harbour View Equity Partners.

**Black Promoters Collective** Back Row: (L to R: Gary Guidry, Walt Reeder Jr., LLF Chairman David Linton, Troy Brown, and Shelby Joyner)Front Row: (L to R: Shahida Mausi and Janice Cotton)
**A.D. Washington Chairman’s Award**

HONOREE SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS Louis Carr — Ray Harris Lifetime Achievement Award:
In his acceptance speech, Carr reflected on the responsibility that comes with leadership and underscored the urgency of preserving Black music history and the contributions of the executives and cultural architects who helped build the industry.
“The work that the Living Legends Foundation is doing is more important today than it has ever been,” Carr said. “As people try to erase our history, try to change our journey and try to erase our contributions, it is more important today than ever.”
Carr, who is celebrating 40 years at BET in 2026, also reflected on the legacy of the Living Legends Foundation Founder Ray Harris and the responsibility Black executives carry in positions of influence. “Ray understood that, as a Black executive in a corporation, you have to manage with your head and with your heart,” Carr said, adding that leadership requires executives to remain both mentors and mentees as they create opportunities for those coming behind them.
Carr closed by acknowledging the foundational role of Black music in BET’s success: “Without Black music, BET would not be where it is today.”
Phylicia Fant — Mike Bernardo Female Executive Award:
In one of the evening’s most reflective acceptance speeches, Fant challenged traditional ideas of success and recognition, defining legacy instead by purpose, resilience and the doors leaders open for those who follow them.
“When you’re young, you think success is about getting somewhere,” Fant said. “Then you live a little longer and realize success is about who gets somewhere because you were here. Who did you help? Who did you advocate for when they weren’t in the room? Whose name did you say when no one else knew it? What door did you open or hold for someone else?”
Fant also spoke candidly about rejection, being overlooked and the determination required to continue creating impact, telling attendees, “Purpose is being told no and refusing to allow somebody else’s no to become the definition of your life.”
She ultimately offered a powerful definition of legacy grounded not in accolades, but in service to others. “I stayed long enough to become something greater than successful. I became useful — useful to my community, useful to the next generation, useful to something bigger than myself,” Fant said. “That is legacy.”

James McMillan, Esq. — Kendall Minter Entertainment Advocate Award:
McMillan, Esq., CEO of ART@WAR Entertainment, reflected on more than two decades in the music business and called for the industry to invest as aggressively in developing future executives as it does in discovering artists.
“My true superpower isn’t just artist development. It’s talent development across the board — artist and executive development together,” McMillan said. “Sustainability in our culture requires an ecosystem. My mission has become building the minds behind the music just as vigorously as the voices on the mic.”
Paying tribute to the late entertainment attorney and advocate Kendall Minter, McMillan said Minter understood that Black music’s long-term strength depended on more than creative talent. “He understood that our community’s greatest asset wasn’t just our sound. It was our intellect, our ownership and our leaders.”McMillan described receiving the award bearing Minter’s name as both an honor and a responsibility, adding, “Our work is never done, because the next generation of artists and executives is watching right now, waiting for someone to open the door, share a playbook and believe in their genius.”

An unforgettable evening honoring the visionaries behind the music that moves us. Congratulations to all the 2026 honorees of the Living Legends Foundation Gala! (Photo credit: Photo Credit: Eclipse Content /Arnold Turner & John Washington (Courtesy of LLF | FrontPageFirm | JL Media PR)