BMF to honor actress Allen as Woman of the Year

The Harvard Black Men’s Forum (BMF) will present the 2007 Woman of the Year award to acclaimed actress, producer, director, and choreographer Debbie Allen. The presentation of the 2007 award — scheduled for March 10 at the Boston Fairmount Copley Hotel — will be the highlight of the 13th annual “Celebration of Black Women: Honoring Everyday Heroes.”

In addition to her talents as a dancer and choreographer, Allen is also a distinguished actress and producer, both in television and in film. Allen has been an artist-in-residence for more than 10 years at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She received the Golden Globe for her role as Lydia Grant in the hit series “Fame” and is a three-time Emmy Award winner.

The “Celebration of Black Women” is an annual awards banquet that honors the contributions black women have made to Harvard University and to the greater global community. In addition to Allen, the forum will honor seven current Harvard undergraduate senior women and will present the Cecilia Ekperi “Faces of Excellence” scholarship to Merrytime Ebhohon, a Boston high school senior who has shown academic excellence and plans to attend an accredited postsecondary institution in the coming year.

This BMF event is known for bringing together business and community leaders and educators from around the globe, current and prospective Harvard University students, students from other universities, Harvard alumni, recruiters, and leading corporate sponsors.

The Harvard BMF is an organization founded primarily on the principles of brotherhood, manhood, and fidelity. Coming together on a weekly basis, the organization provides a forum in which black men on Harvard’s campus can discuss a wide range of issues in an intellectual setting outside of the classroom.