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Gloria Carter, JAY-Z's mother, will be honored with a Special Recognition Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for her role in her son's 2017 song "Smile," Billboard reports. The song details JAY-Z's experience with his mother coming out as a lesbian, and features Gloria herself explaining how it felt to keep her identity hidden for so long. At the awards, she'll speak about "the impact that coming out as a woman of color had on her life, her family and the world at large."
"By sharing her truth with the world, Gloria Carter increased visibility of lesbian women of color at a critical time and sent a powerful message of empowerment to the entire LGBTQ community,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told Billboard. “Her story and the unconditional love that her family exhibits resonate with so many. The GLAAD Media Awards will be a critical platform to honor her work and further this important message.”
She'll be joined by Ava DuVernay, who won this year's Excellence in Media Award, and Samira Wiley, winner of this year's Vito Russo Award. The GLAAD Media Awards will take place in New York City on May 5.