A spotlight glows over actress and activist Amanda Seales. She smiles from the corner of the stage behind a podium and greets a massive crowd seated in the rows of Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.
“This is not the Oscars. This is an award show that matters. We’re here, we see each other. And we are loud about what we see in each other,” she said to uproarious applause.
There was a lot to celebrate at the Black Girl Magic Ball, held on March 26. The brainchild of organizer, writer, and Lincoln Center’s current poet-in-residence, Dr. Mahogany L. Browne, and named after her groundbreaking poem “Black Girl Magic,” the Black Girl Magic Ball has been a gathering to celebrate Black women, girls and their allies, usually in a gala-style event.
In its ninth year, it’s much the same, except for the venue change. The event has moved to theater-style seating for the first time at Alice Tully Hall, with a capacity of over 1,000 people. “The growth feels surreal. Finally, we’ve arrived in a place where we are matching outwardly, how we have always felt internally,” said Browne.
The annual ball is a big production, which in the past has included a wide display of talented Black artists, musicians, DJs, and poets. This year, that lineup of entertainment included DJ Libby Brothers, Mumu Fresh, Obbie West, and more. The event also featured returning performances from former NYC poet laureate Kai Diata Giovanni and AbunDance.
What’s also different this year is the theme of the ball: MATRIARCHS. For Browne, the theme came about when she thought about the people who have been a transformative and guiding force in her life.
Marielle Argueza photos
Dr. Mahogany L. Browne gets her photo taken by one of the many photographers at the event. 
A far cry from the audience seated at dining tables, the 9th annual Black Girl Magic Ball was held at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. 
“It is in the technology of the Black femme divine femininity that I have found my voice, my recipes and pathway to freedom,” said Qween Jean, accepting her award in a bright red gown.
The ball is one part creative conference, and another part an ode to the figures helping make room for Black women, femmes, and girls in all spaces. That latter element is acknowledged in two ways: the theme, MATRIARCHS, and this year’s awardees.
“The theme came from me trying to think about the way in which I moved in the world. Who are those pillars in my life that make it possible for me to do that? It’s matriarch[s],” she said. “It’s the aunties, and the daughters or seedlings. So I wanted to make room for those three different pillars,” said Browne.
This year’s honorees completely embody the theme and include Veronica Chambers, Patricia Smith, Qween Jean, and V, formerly known as Eve Ensler (the ally honoree).
Through their work as an editor and author, not only did Chambers write her own books, but she also played a pivotal role as an editor to help Black authors publish their own work. Smith, who is a poet, author and former journalist, now teaches at Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts, helping guide the next generation of creative writers and thinkers. Qween Jean, apart from their work in boundary-pushing costume design in “Cats,” co-founded Black Trans Liberation Kitchen, which helps nourish the trans and gender-nonconforming community with home-cooked meals. And V, of course, is best known for their seminal work “The Vagina Monologues,” which unapologetically and transformatively pushed how women and women’s bodies could be seen on stage.
Other than their roles in the Black community and exemplifying what it looks like to lead in matriarchy, Browne said they embody what she called “courageous resilience.”
“It is showing up. Fighting the fear, the exhaustion, all the obstacles put in the way to tear into you and cause distraction, and showing up consistently every time. So it’s courageous resilience,” she said.