I know this is a week late and many of us have moved on but bear with me for a bit. As we all know, the 2016 BET Awards were held last Sunday and there was plenty about it to cheer for. I mean who hasn’t watched Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar’s fiery and inspiring opening number at least five times? And of course actor and activist Jesse Williams’ brilliant acceptance speech for his humanitarian efforts, where he shed light, not just on racial, social and political issues facing black people in America but he also called out some of the actions of black individuals as well.

Then there was Usher’s amazing performance to end the night, shutting it all down in brilliant fashion and doing what he does best. And of course those amazing Prince tributes – from Sheila E.’s electric and heartfelt number (take that Linda Perry) to Maxwell’s doing it in his own soulful and sexy way and of course Jennifer Hudson’s gospel-inspired rendition of Purple Rain – it was a farewell fit for a prince.

However, that brings me to my one major criticism about this year’s show and the main reason for this blog post that is a week late. As this was the BET Awards, arguably the biggest music award show celebrating black excellence in music and entertainment – where were the tributes to Natalie Cole and Maurice White? Admittedly, I was doing a bit of channel surfing during the original airing and therefore thought I may have just missed it. However, subsequent re-airings have confirmed to me that was not the case and as I thought, not only were there no tributes for either artist, but their deaths were virtually ignored.

It wonder if the producers of the show focused so much on the Prince tribute and making sure they got it just right (probably due to not wanting to deal with the backlash if they didn’t, after they more or less dropped the gauntlet a few months ago by very publicly and very harshly criticizing The Billboard Music Awards’ tribute, which featured Madonna) that the deaths of these two music legends just completely slipped their minds. There is probably also the fact that Prince’s death was far more recent.

However, as noted above, this is the BET Awards, where their goal, as stated by the network, is to honor and reward black excellence. And when the death of two music icons whose careers spanned decades and made an indelible mark on the music world is not even a footnote, especially as one artist is lauded and celebrated the entire night, it makes you question the judgment of those involved. The exclusion had to particularly be a slap in the face to Natalie Cole’s family and loved ones who were already disappointed by the tribute she was given at the Grammy Awards earlier this year, which amounted to nothing more than a mere mention and a few seconds of her performing Unforgettable on the Grammy stage, years ago.

Don’t get me wrong. As I said above, I loved the tributes to Prince and they were well earned in my opinion, as Prince truly was a one of a kind musical genius whose brilliance cannot be overstated (see my previous blog post in reaction to his death). That said, both Natalie Cole and Maurice White were significant artists not just in the black community, but worldwide, who deserved to be acknowledged and celebrated in some way.

Natalie Cole was the daughter of one of the most legendary jazz singers in history, who managed to carve a more than impressive solo career for herself. While it is true that her most successful album was Unforgettable…With Love, which through the magic of technology, saw her performing duets of her late father’s hits alongside him, Cole had an impressive career before that, releasing multiple Platinum and Gold selling albums in the 70’s and early 80’s.

Meanwhile, Maurice White was one of the founding members of Earth, Wind & Fire – one of the most legendary bands in music and who Rolling Stone declared “helped change the sound of black pop.” The band is considered one of the pioneers of the funk sound and with over 100 million albums sold, they are one of the best-selling bands of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Hall of Fame, as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Their accomplishments were impressive enough that ironically, the BET Awards honored them with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. It thus only makes the omission that much more baffling and disappointing.

I just want to be clear that for the most part, I enjoyed the show. There were some acts I had little interest in but recognize their popularity and so accept why they were there. And again, there was a lot that was good about the show versus the not good. That said, the omission of these two legendary artists by a show that recognizes African-American excellence was truly disappointing.