On May 12, 1982 the first Twin Cities Minneapolis
St. Paul Black Musical Awards were presented at the Prom Center in St.
Paul. The printed program announced the reason for the new awards: "So
many times achievements are never acknowledged among our people. Yet encouragement
is key to inventiveness." For the next 16 years, Minnesota Black Music
Awards founders Pete and Kimberly Bedell Rhodes spent thousands of hours
nurturing and honoring musicians who played and taught jazz, gospel, R&B,
and classical music. Though MBMA began modestly, as the silver award certificate
from the first ceremony shows, the Rhode's dream grew over the years.
A local newspaper lauded the program as "a crucial showcase for local
black performers" because "heavyweight talent scouts" from major record
labels attended. Prince won numerous awards from the MBMA and was honored
with the organization's first Artist award in 1997.1
1. Minnesota Black Music Awards program, 1982, copy in MBMA Records, Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), St. Paul; Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 26, 1986, p. 13C.
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