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 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Although the BET Awards doled out awards to some of entertainment's most celebrated performers on Tuesday night, from Beyonce to Jennifer Hudson, it was the show's tributes to living legends and recently departed giants that evoked the most emotion.
Lifetime achievement honoree Diana Ross urged younger performers to "keep it classy" and refrain from foul behavior. A tearful Patti LaBelle joined an all-star tribute to R&B crooner Gerald Levert, who died last year. And fists pumped in the air as hip-hop group Public Enemy honored the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown, with a stirring rendition of one of his landmark hits, "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)."
"James Brown gets credit for laying the musical foundations of hip hop, but he set some attitudes for the culture as well. He was pro-black, pro-strong," said civil rights activist and longtime Brown friend, the Rev. Al Sharpton. "It's time for us to pick up the legacy and teach another generation to wear their shoulders back and hold their heads high and be able to say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud."
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