​It’s official! Louis Carr, president of BET, is a Living Legends Foundation’s 2026 Ray Harris Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. This adds another honor to Carr’s decades-long career shaping Black media, driving culture, and empowering community.

The award will be presented Oct. 2, Billboard shares, at the organization’s 35th anniversary awards dinner and gala at Flourish by Legendary in Atlanta.

The annual event celebrates leaders who have helped move Black music and media forward while also supporting the next generation through scholarships.

“For 35 years, the Living Legends Foundation has honored and supported those who bring Black music to the world while investing in the industry’s future through scholarships,” said LLF chairman David C. Linton in a statement, shared on Billboard. “We look forward to returning to Atlanta to honor an extraordinary group of professionals who continue to make Black music the envy of the world.”

Carr has spent decades at BET, where he has been widely recognized as one of the most influential Black executives in media and marketing. Billboard’s report places him at the center of this year’s honors, alongside a slate of other executives and creators across radio, label, and promotion, including Juliette Jones, chief operating officer of Alamo Records, who will receive the Impact Player Award.

The 2025 lifetime achievement award went to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, showing how the foundation’s top honors center a wide-ranging list of cultural beacons. This year’s gala will also recognize leaders, including Black Promoters Collective, Kenny Smoov, Greg Street, Tim Reid, Phylicia Fant, James McMillan, Ted Lucas, and Ralph McDaniels.

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