On Saturday, March 17, the Los Angeles-based WACO Theater Center—dedicated to empowering artists in underserved communities—held its second annual Wearable Art Gala, hosted by co-founders Richard Lawson and Tina Knowles-Lawson.

The event drew hundreds to The Alexandria Ballrooms in Downtown Los Angeles, including notables such as Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Chloe and Halle Bailey and Samuel L. Jackson. Decked out in ensembles inspired by Marvel’s latest blockbuster film Black Panther, guests came to honor both Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, and Knowles-Lawson’s daughter Beyoncé Knowles-Carter for their philanthropic efforts.

After Michelle Obama thanked the singer (via a pre-recorded video) for providing support to numerous global relief efforts and humanitarian causes throughout the years, Knowles-Carter directed the attention back to her mother. “Thank you to the most incredible woman, my mother. She taught me that there’s something more valuable than any dollar amount, and that’s time,” she said. “Time to put someone else first. Time to change the trajectory of a child, of a village, of a community, and time to tell another person that you matter to me.”

As the evening proved to be a misty-eyed one, the Carters’ daughter, Blue Ivy, lightened the atmosphere. With a smile, the six year-old sent the room into a roar of laughter as she entered a bidding war against filmmaker Tyler Perry during a live auction. Perry’s winning $20,000 bid for a portrait of a young Sidney Poitier was the perfect spark for the $1,100,000 raised that evening to benefit the organization and its mentorship programs.

Written by Ericka Franklin

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