Usher, Doug E. Fresh to appear at Ford Freedom Award ceremony

or the 18th year, Ford Motor Company will celebrate leaders improving the Black community with the Ford Freedom Award.

This year, with the theme Men of Courage: Advancing the Narrative of African American Men, Ford will honor former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, the late business executive Reginald F. Lewis, criminal justice reform advocate and author Shaka Senghor and student activist Jonathan Butler.

Rapper Doug E. Fresh and singer Angie Stone will be among the evening’s performers, while Usher is planned to appear as a presenter during the event along with NFL Hall of Famer and Detroit native Jerome Bettis.

“The Ford Freedom Award provides the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History a unique platform to pay tribute to some of America’s greatest influencers,” Wright Museum President and CEO Juanita Moore says in a press release. “Honoree Reginald Lewis, who was undoubtedly influenced by African American trailblazers that came before him, understood the fundamental importance of African American history in inspiring others to blaze their own trails.”

The event begins at 6 p.m. on May 17 at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. Tickets are $50 per person ($150 for the VIP treatment) and the proceeds will benefit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

For more information, visit FordFreedomAward.com.