We don’t think we would dare defy actress and singer Jenifer Lewis, known unofficially as “The Mother of Black Hollywood,” not because she is fierce but because of her sheer passion for helping others. None more apparent than her unwavering support for the New York Annual AIDS Walk. She has walked for this cause more times than we can count. Watch her message before May 17.

You will probably recognise Jenifer for her very successful career, appearing in Broadway musicals and working as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films Beaches (1988) and Sister Act (1992). Lewis is known for playing roles of mothers in the films What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993), Poetic Justice (1993), The Preacher’s Wife (1996), The Brothers (2001), The Cookout (2004), Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), Baggage Claim (2013) and The Wedding Ringer (2015), as well as in The Temptations miniseries (1998).