AFROPUNK is about pushing boundaries and highlighting marginalized voices through interactive experiences driven by innovative people. Last weekend, AFROPUNK teamed up with Lincoln Center to send off Black History Month, but also to usher in Women’s History Month with Black Herstory Live, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Lincoln Center, and BET was on the scene Saturday.

Black Herstory Live was a weekend-long celebration of Black women that featured daytime experiences, open to the public, with a small business marketplace selling wellness products, clothing, accessories, and books, and performances by Juilliard dancers, poets, bands, and more, as a variety of women DJs set the musical backdrop with a variety of tunes.

“I love AFROPUNK, I love herstory. I think we make herstory 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 8 days a week, added an extra day,” explained Erica Carrington, a Jersey City, New Jersey native who was out celebrating her birthday. “I love sisterhood. I love anything that’s about sisterhood, women empowerment, and being inspired, and I’m a huge India.Arie fan so this is a win, win.”

Carrington was one of the many stylish and creative people who were out and about on Saturday. The second part of the celebration on each day of the festival culminated in an evening concert hosted by Mahogany L. Browne, with performances by Aja Monet, Celisse, Mereba, Danielle Ponder, choreography by Ebony Williams, and India.Arie.

Each of the performers spoke and sang life into the crowd, and India.Arie was especially emotional. She began her set, which closed out the night, in tears. They were reflective tears, but also restorative tears as she released some of the baggage she was holding on to. The “Video” singer got candid about how she had surgery to remove uterine polyps just two weeks prior to the event and that it made her more in tune with how she needed to focus on healing herself as much as she healed others with her music.

“Tonight, I’m singing these songs for me. You are welcome to join me because I’m so glad you’re here,” she explained, adding that she doesn’t just sing, but that she has “songversations” with her music.

It was a vibe, one that hopefully set the foundation for a productive Women’s History Month and AFROPUNK events to come.