Alicia Keys attends Keep a Child Alive’s ninth annual Black Ball on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 in New York. Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
NEW YORK — Alicia Keys raised more than $1 million for her charity and honored Oprah Winfrey for her humanitarian efforts Thursday night.
Keys’ Keep a Child Alive celebrated its annual Black Ball — dubbed Black Ball Redux — at the Apollo Theater. The R&B singer performed alongside Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Hudson, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and Angelique Kidjo, who was also honored.
Keys raised about $1.3 million from pledges and auctions. One million dollars came from billionaire Stewart Rahr.
Keep a Child Alive assists those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. Winfrey launched the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in neighboring South Africa in 2007. She says she was honored to receive an award from Keys, and that it confirms she’s “moving in the right direction.”