Trailblazing actress Cicely Tyson and music legend Ray Charles played instrumental roles in shaping their respective industries, and the two will be posthumously honored for their contributions to the arts. According to WSBTV, Tyson and Charles will be inducted into the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.

Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Cicely Tyson and Ray Charles to be honored on Black Walk of Fame https://t.co/cSIuedSpxQ

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) December 21, 2021

Founded in 2021—by the Black American Music Association and Georgia Entertainment Caucus—the BMEWOF was created to celebrate and amplify the legacies of Black luminaries and organizations that have tapped into the power of the arts to uplift and empower. Nestled in the heart of Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood—along the sidewalks of Northside Dr. and Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.—the BMEWOF serves as an ode to Black visionaries who have broken barriers and inspired other innovators to follow suit.

The 2022 inductees will include Black artists and music moguls whose work spans generations, including Tyson, Charles, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Prince, Ms. Lauryn Hill, TLC, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Lionel Richie. Entertainment visionary Tyler Perry will also be inducted.

“We came to the conclusion to make sure that we were preserving history on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive by putting it in front of the Mercedes Benz Stadium,” GEC co-founder Erica Thomas told The Atlanta Voice. “Georgia and Atlanta are the Black Mecca. We couldn’t go anywhere else to start this Walk of Fame off. When they called Atlanta’ Black Hollywood’, we really had to take that metaphor and really engage and indulge in it.”

The induction ceremony is slated to take place in Atlanta on Feb. 17.

Past inductees included Shirley Caesar, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Sean Combs, Usher, Outkast and Kirk Franklin. The BMEWOF foundational inductees were James Brown, Quincy Jones, Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder.

SEE ALSO:

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In Choosing Herself, Cicely Tyson Fully Portrayed The Beauty Of Black Women

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