“Be Black. Black is beautiful,” Queen Latifah emphasized while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 BET Awards. The Grammy and Emmy-winning multi-hyphenate used her time on the podium to pay tribute to the network and fellow Black artists.

The “U.N.I.T.Y.” singer said, “I want to thank BET for creating an outlet for beautiful Blackness to thrive, to shine. When we couldn’t get played on the radio in other places, we couldn’t get our video played in other places, there was BET that allowed us to be in our fullness and to shine.”

Queen Latifah shared the stage with Rapsody, Monie Love, Lil’ Kim, and MC Lyte, who performed a special tribute to the Oscar-nominated “Chicago” actress. She described them as her “sisters in the name of rap.”

“I’ve always celebrated the woman because I was raised by a strong Black woman and raised by a father who loves women,” said Queen Latifah. She gestured to Rapsody, Monie Love, Lil’ Kim, and MC Lyte and explained, “I wanted to celebrate us because I know together we stand stronger than when we tear each other apart,” adding that she wanted to share her “respect to all the female MCs on the stage tonight.”

Queen Latifah stars in CBS’ “The Equalizer.” The crime drama has been renewed for a second season with a premiere date TBA.