OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2015. P&G’s My Black is Beautiful (MBIB) continues to inspire Black girls to be their best selves. MBIB maintains its momentum towards its goal of reaching and teaching one million girls and young women to believe their Black is beautiful as part of its Imagine A Future (IAF) program. Together, with P&G brands, COVERGIRL, Pantene and Olay, and retail partner Target, MBIB will celebrate girls who are making a positive difference, and will invite the community to change the beauty conversation by joining the IAF movement during the 2015 BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Awards on Sunday, April 5 on BET Networks.

The IAF program launched in 2012, in collaboration with BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ and UNCF (United Negro College Fund). The program aims to reach and teach one million Black girls over three years to believe their Black is beautiful. In 2013, the program sparked a national conversation surrounding Black beauty and self-image by releasing the Imagine A Future documentary, which examined the historical and current beauty and self-esteem issues that challenge Black women and girls.

"I am honored to support My Black is Beautiful's Imagine A Future program, and to be a part of a movement that offers encouragement to girls and young women during the most critical years of their lives,” said Tatyana Ali, actress, activist and MBIB ambassador. “This year's M.A.D. (Making A Difference) Girls inspire all girls and young women to imagine a future where they're able to bring meaningful change to their communities.”

Now in its third and final year of the IAF program, in which more than 770,000 girls and women have been empowered to date, MBIB continues its mission by motivating the community to join the road to inspire one million girls and young women to be their best selves. During the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Awards, attendees and viewers will be encouraged to watch the Imagine A Future documentary and hold local interactive screenings of the movie for their daughters, nieces and mentees using the accompanying curriculum: the IAF Discussion and Facilitator’s Guides. The documentary and resource materials are free to use and can be accessed by visiting www.MBIBImagineAFuture.com.

MBIB will also join BLACK GIRLS ROCK!TM Inc. in celebrating three dynamic young women who are being honored at the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Awards. Each young lady is making a difference in her community and exemplifies the IAF mission. By promoting progressive change in their communities, the 2015 M.A.D. Girls – Gabrielle Jordan, Chental-Song Bembry and Kaya Thomas – have used their voice, knowledge and talent to empower and serve others.

“Each year, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!TM acknowledges a group of dynamic young women and girls who are driven to create solutions to the social issues of our time. I am so proud of this year’s inspiring M.A.D. Girls who are making a difference in education through literacy building, mentoring and technology. It is my hope that through their example, other girls will come to know that they are capable of making a difference in their communities too,” said Beverly Bond, creator, founder and executive producer of BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™. “We are elated that Tatyana Ali and Proctor & Gamble’s My Black is Beautiful will join us in celebrating these incredible young women.”

This year’s M.A.D. Girls include:

Gabrielle Jordan, 14, of Bowie, Md., is an author, young entrepreneur and philanthropist who volunteers as a youth ambassador for The Tigerlily Foundation supporting breast health, education, wellness and empowerment for girls and women leaving her mark on the world and the people she meets.

Chental-Song Bembry, 18, of Somerset, N.J., is the author and illustrator of The Honey Bunch Kids Series. In addition to building her franchise, Chental-Song is a literacy advocate who travels around the country to teach children the importance of reading, writing and literacy development.

Kaya Thomas, 19, of Staten Island, N.Y., is a techie, vlogger, creator and advocate for tech education. She is currently studying Computer Science at Dartmouth College. Kaya runs a tech vlog that offers coding tutorials and has developed a cultural literacy app that helps readers find literature for and by people of color.

“We're proud to unite with our community partner BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ on our journey to inspire one million beautiful futures, and to highlight positive change agents such as the M.A.D. Girls,” said Grace Janes, brand manager, Procter & Gamble’s My Black is Beautiful. "While more than 770,000 Black girls and young women have been empowered through our Imagine A Future program, our journey continues. We're challenging our community to join our conversation so that one day every Black girl will proudly embrace her inner and outer beauty."

BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ airs on Sunday, April 5 at 7:00PM/6:00PM Central on BET. For more information on My Black is Beautiful and Imagine A Future, visit www.MyBlackIsBeautiful.com and join the conversation on Facebook: /MBIB, Twitter: @MBIB, Instagram: @MBIB and YouTube.com/MBIBVideo to inspire and empower one million beautiful futures.

About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™
Founded by celebrity DJ and philanthropist, Beverly Bond, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ is a multifaceted movement dedicated to shifting the culture of media images and empowering women and girls. BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that has been committed to enriching girls through leadership, education and positive identity development programs since 2006. BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Inc. builds the self-esteem and self-worth of young women of color by changing their outlook on life, broadening their horizons and providing tools for self-empowerment and efficacy. For additional information on BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™, visit http://www.blackgirlsrock.org.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.