When God speaks to people, sometimes they listen and sometimes they do not. His words are never lost, but sometimes his words are not taken as gospel. Tenora Edwards is a God-fearing woman and blessed at the same time. So, when she was driving one day and heard God speak to her, she knew she could not ignore it.
Edwards has always been a successful entrepreneur. Having reached a high degree of success owning daycare centers, she knew how to turn nothing into something. She struggled to manage a career and be a mom at the same time. The costs of daycare and the quality of daycare she needed, she could not find.
As a single mom in the police academy, Edwards wondered how she would be able to be in two places at the same time. The academy had its hours, and the daycare had its hours. Edwards needs special hours, one with a single mom pricing, if she were going to graduate from the police academy. Edwards used her girl power to create her solution to her problem.
Edwards decided she would create the business she was looking for. She opened her daycare and created a business that she could not find. Three locations later, she was able to earn a great income and put her children in the kind of daycare she coveted.
But this conversation with God was different. He wanted her to embark on a journey and go down a road that she knew nothing about. When the conversation was finished, Edwards created her version of giving back to her community by launching the Pink and Black Honors.
The Pink & Black Honors is a premier black-tie awards event where the culturally diverse entrepreneur community and businesses that empower and align with the goals of culturally diverse communities are elevated and celebrated. The Pink & Black Honors amplifies the impact and importance of these innovative business founders with a night of networking and an awards ceremony with celebrities and special guests.
Edwards was told to fill the void in the community by creating seeds of love and honor.
Edwards started with the Pink Party Retreats. It started as an overnight pajama party at her house. In 2011, it grew so much that she had to move the retreat to Kalahari. That experience led her to start the Man Cave.
The Man Cave brought men together to fellowship and celebrate each other. Both ventures increased in support and continued to grow.
“I am in awe of God when he works and uses the right people to execute his plan,” Edwards continued, “His plan is so much greater than anything we can understand.”
From those ventures, the Pink and Black Honors were born. The event has become one of the best celebrations in Cleveland, taking place every June when the weather is perfect and the night sky is bright. The venue where it is held is magical, and the attire of everyone who attends is dressed in pink and black.
The event is in its third year and grows every year. The event brings in people from all over the country and locally to honor those from the community who might not get the honor from any other source.
“My goal with creating the Pink and Black Honors was to make all of us feel special,” Edwards said. “It’s for the presenters, the award recipients, the audience, and the sponsors.”
And everyone who comes feels the gravity of the night. With men dressed in tuxedos and women adorned in their best evening gowns, the power of the moment is not lost on anyone.
Edwards spares no expense to make the evening as glamorous as possible. Held at the Severance Music Center, the fantastic facilities make the night feel like the Oscars in Cleveland. The building is historic with amazing architectural spaces that harken back to the old days when America built classic buildings.
The decorations promote the honorees of the night like the celebrities they are. The food and drinks before the event shower the guests with the best experience they can have. And finally, the musical acts that are brought in make the evening feel like the guests of the night feel like they are attending a star-studded event.
The best part about the night is Edwards, and here the team selects honorees that typically do not get the recognition they deserve.
“We reserve a section of the awards for emerging stars. These are up-and-coming things that no one knows about. We wanted to make sure we find young people to honor so they can know we are watching them, and we see their efforts,” Edwards said.
The emerging stars award makes a difference for those who get the award. After the winner is announced, each honoree has seen a growth in their business after they attend and receive the Pink and Black Honor.
This year, the Pink and Black Honors will be held on June 22nd, 2025, at the Severance Music Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will have Sheri Shepard as a keynote speaker and will continue in the great tradition of honoring some of the area’s outstanding citizens.
Even though Edwards is the one who has created the Pink and Black Honors, she feels like it is she who is getting the most out of the event itself.
“I feel so purposeful and grateful for the work we are doing. I love helping the community, and it makes me so happy when I see how much people love getting their rewards,” Edwards said.
Edwards wants everyone to find their purpose. Edwards wants everyone to listen to God when he speaks. And most of all, Edwards wants all women to bask in their girl power. She wanted women to use their girl power to love better, listen more, and create situations where the entire community wins.
Edwards credits getting her girl power not from a woman, but from a man. Today, Edwards is a graceful, beautiful woman who speaks with a soft voice and a gentle smile. Her presence is feminine, and her calming spirit warms any room. But she was not always this way. When Edwards was young, she would bulldoze her way around life, and this rubbed people the wrong way.
“When I was growing up, I was a boss babe. I knew that my stuff did not stink, and I demanded everything from everyone,” Edwards said.
That mentality, while beneficial in some cases, robbed her of opportunity in others. Edwards thought that she always needed to stand her ground to get her way. She won a lot of battles that way, but lost chances for growth at the same time.
Edwards had a male mentor as she became a seasoned business owner who saw her flaws as opportunities. He would coach Edwards to think about how she approached life and work with her to get out of her own way, so she could get more of the things she wanted.
“My mentor helped me focus on becoming a better person by introducing me to two words, love and humility,” Edwards said.
At the time, she did not understand why she needed to digest those two words so much. She thought she was fine, how she was. But he coached her to understand the meaning behind those words, until they became the principles of how she viewed herself.
Her mentor felt like Edwards had too much fire. Single women often must demand respect. But Edwards was taught to put honey on her tongue. For five years, her mentor taught her to become more loving. He taught her to listen and not speak sometimes.
Those teachings have made Edwards who she is today. She uses her girl power to effect change by staying graceful and delightful. Edwards knows that by using her feminine qualities, she gets way more accomplished than by bullying her way through life.
Edwards always found pleasure in hearing God speak to her. She never knew that she would find so much reward in speaking back to him with her actions. Tenora Edwards is CODE M Magazine’s Woman of the Year. Congratulations!
