Jon Platt, Cathy Hughes Named National Museum Of African American Music Honorees

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) will honor several artists and industry executives during the 2016 My Music Matters™: A Celebration of Legends Luncheon, to be held Friday, May 6 at Nashville’s Renaissance Hotel. Shannon Sanders and Dyana Williams, GRAMMY chapter presidents of Nashville and Philadelphia, respectively, will co-host the event and serve as masters of ceremonies.

Sanders and Williams were on hand Tuesday morning (March 15) at Nashville’s Renaissance Hotel to announce this year’s honorees, which include:
• Pastor Shirley Caesar, GRAMMY®, Dove and Stellar award-winning Gospel icon
• Cathy Hughes, TV One/Radio One, Chairman
• Alfred Liggins, III, TV One/Radio One, President & CEO
• Kenny Gamble, Gamble-Huff Music
• Leon Huff, Gamble-Huff Music
• Jon Platt, CEO, Warner/Chappell Music, North America

“It is an honor to serve as co-host of the Legends Luncheon with the co-founder of Black Music Month, Dyana Williams, in Music City,” said Sanders, the first African American elected to serve as president of the GRAMMY’s Nashville chapter. “It’s especially powerful that we will host this event in Nashville, leading into June and celebrating NMAAM. This project is a cultural imperative, not just for Nashville, but for the world. I am looking forward to the many aspects of American culture told within the museum and in communities all across this country.”

“The conversations we have had with leaders and community members, across the nation, fueled our progress and has produced growth in multiple facets,” said H. Beecher Hicks III, president and CEO of NMAAM. “By ensuring the mission of NMAAM with new and existing supporters, we have accomplished key milestones and significant fundraising, including securing plans for our future home – in the heart of Music City’s downtown core – surpassing 2015 goals and reaching over 10,000 youth and adults through expanded educational programming.”

Tickets for the My Music Matters: A Celebration of Legends luncheon are $125 per person and can be purchased at nmaam.org. Those interested in becoming a sponsor should contact NMAAM’s development department by calling 615-301-8724 or contacting [email protected].