by Ida Harris
November 21, 2023
It was not lost on attendees and award winners alike that Nikkia McClain is the real MVP
In its fifth year, Tene Nicole Agency’s Support Your Girlfriends’ Pow(H)er Experience and Award ceremony has put together two-day programming that empowers Black women and women of color who are embarking on entrepreneurship or standing up in established businesses—followed by an honorific evening that celebrates women who have shown excellence in the respective industries. On Nov. 15, veteran journalist Charreah Jackson led a fireside conversation on “Advocating for Women in Business.” Other panels included discussions on “Entrepreneurship in the Digital Landscape,” and how to “Survive and Thrive As an Entrepreneur,” and were well-attended by over 200 women.
Day two, the Pow(H)er award ceremony went down at Manhattan’s Dream downtown hotel, and was preceded by a swanky, VIP cocktail hour inside the boutique hotel’s lounge Bodega Negra. Lyndsay Levingston, host and founder of SurviveHer, provided opening remarks and opened the floor for the event sponsor Camus Cognac to present the first award. Honors were given to awardees who are fiercely unapologetic. Award-winning journalist Nicole Johnson received an award for unapologetic journalism. Legendary photographer Rowena Husbands —who was supported by news anchor Sade Baderinwa and Myrdith McCormack, editorial director of World Bride Magazine—took home the Unapologetically Her Award for visual storytelling.
Angela White, formerly known as Blac Chyna, received the Unapologetically Her Award in Entrepreneurship, Breakfast Club host Charlemagne took home the inaugural Pow(H)im Award from social justice advocate Tamika Mallory for giving back and his spirit of community service. Other honorees included Lucinda Cross, Modupe Congleton, Dr. Angela Anderson, and fashion designer Samantha Black among others. Monique Glover and Nadirah Taylor were both Power Up Award winners recipients.
Behind this powerful event is Nikkia McClain, founder of Tene Nicole Agency and Support Your Girlfriends Initiative. It was not lost on attendees and award winners alike that McClain is the real MVP, bringing women—and now, men—together to celebrate themselves and shower them with much deserved flowers. McClain gets the unofficial award for her Pow(H)er moves and making it all possible.
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