I'm Just Me: A Charley Pride Celebration of Inclusion Set to Honor 16 Country Music Leaders

The inaugural I'm Just Me: A Charley Pride Celebration of Inclusion will take place on May 14th in Frisco, Texas.

Presented as a collaboration between Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon Music and the Academy of Country Music, the invitation-only event hosted by BRELAND will recognize and honor 16 honorees who represent Pride's legacy in country music as leaders in hope, advocacy and innovation.

Pioneering Pride, who died in 2020 at the age of 86, was country music's first black superstar, breaking down barriers despite racial adversity and winning three Grammy Awards and being the first black artist to win Country Artist of the Year Music Awards, as well as the ACM Pioneer Award and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. Scored 29 No. 1s Advertising signon the Hot Country Songs chart and was the first black artist to reach No. 1 on the chart.

“Charley Pride was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. He paved the way for countless artists to follow in his footsteps, and his success is a reminder that country music is rooted in diverse artists and traditions,” Ryan Redington, GM of Amazon Music, said in a statement. “Amazon Music is honored to join the Academy of Country Music and Amazon MGM Studios to celebrate not only the legacy of Charley Pride, but also to honor the artists, creators and executives who promote his spirit.”

The 2024 honorees are BRELAND artists. Rayna Roberts? The War and Treaty's Michael and Tonya Trotter; Tiera Kennedy and Wendy Moten? Recording Academy Nashville Chapter executives Alicia Warwick and Armand Hutton. Black Music Action Coalition President/CEO Willie “Prophet” Stigers; BMI Nashville executive director of creative Shannon Sanders. artist/Color Me Country Radio host Rissi Palmer; songwriter/writer Alice Randall; ACM executive Kortney Toney. journalist Naima Cochrane and Pride's widow Rozene Pride and son Dion Pride.

The celebration, which organizers hope to make an annual event, takes place two days before the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire. The ACM Awards will be broadcast live and free exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on May 16 at 8 p.m. ET.