About 20 years ago, Dr. Katherine Y. Brown launched a freestanding CPR company on the South Side of Chicago, knowing the underserved people living there were the least likely to get CPR. She thought, If you build it, they will come.

They didn’t come. So she went to them. At last count, she has taught more than 300,000 people to administer CPR in a safe, timely and efficient manner.

A Black History Unsung Hero: Dr. Katherine Y. Brown, EdD

Dr. Brown, who founded Learn CPR America, has received many accolades, far too many to mention, but here’s a short list of just a few of them: In 2001, she became the first Black person to earn a doctoral faculty position in the history of Belmont University. In 2021, she received the Athena International Leadership award. This accomplishment made her the first woman in Nashville and possibly in the country to be the first dual recipient of the Athena Traditional Award (2021) and the Athena Young Professional Award (2015) — and the first Black woman to do so. In 2023, she became the first Black woman to receive the American Heart Association’s Martin E. Simmons Award for Advancing Heart Health. She is also the new AHA ReSS Champion Award recipient.

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/04/nx-s1-5189644/thousands-of-people-experience-cardiac-arrest-each-year-cpr-can-be-life-saving

Thousands of people experience cardiac arrest each year. CPR can be life-saving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asake

Ahmed Ololade (born 13 January 1995), known professionally as Asake,^[1] is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} His debut album, Mr. Money with the Vibe (2022) broke the record for the biggest opening day for an African album on Apple Music at the time, and debuted at number 66 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[7][8] His second album Work of Art (2023), matched the chart position of its predecessor.^[9] Asake’s third album Lungu Boy (2024) became his third consecutive number one album in Nigeria, and the longest-running number one in Nigeria chart history.^[10]

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/g-s1-87240/asake-tiny-desk-concert

Asake arrived at the office with a warm smile and a quiet confidence that instantly bloomed as he stepped behind the Desk. The Nigerian artist is known for his high-energy stage presence, but this concert shows just how effortlessly he can blend the sounds of Afrobeats, amapiano and Fuji in an intimate setting.

https://www.tananarivedue.com/bio-contact

TANANARIVE DUE (tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA.

 A leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award, and her writing has been included in best-of-the-year anthologies. Her books include The Reformatory (winner of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Chautauqua Prize, Bram Stoker Award, Shirley Jackson Award, World Fantasy Award, and a New York Times Notable Book), The Wishing Pool and Other Stories, Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Abraham

Kyle Abraham (born August 14, 1977)^[1] is an American choreographer and dancer. He founded his own company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (formerly Abraham.In.Motion) in 2006 in New York City and has produced many original works for A.I.M such as The Radio Show (2010), Absent Matter (2015), Pavement (2012), Dearest Home (2017), Drive (2017), INDY (2018), Studies on Farewell (2019), and An Untitled Love (2021). Kyle has also been commissioned to create new works for international dance companies such as Untitled America (2016) for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Runaway (2018) for New York City Ballet, The Bystander (2019) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Only The Lonely (2019) for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and Ash (2019).

https://www.aimbykyleabraham.com/community#intro

About the Company

A.I.M believes in:

the power of dance as an art form and A.I.M’s distinctive, ardent voice within contemporary dance

an artistic process informed by robust conversations with people from diverse perspectives

the pursuit of excellence through ethical leadership and through

accountability to each other, the field at large, and the audiences we serve

supporting and nurturing dancers with living wages, health insurance, and career development

operating with integrity throughout all aspects of the organization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Ashante_Wilson

Kai Ashante Wilson is an American author of speculative fiction active since 2013.^[1]

Wilson was the 2010 Octavia Butler scholar at the San Diego Clarion Writing Workshop.^[2] His work has appeared in various periodicals, podcasts and anthologies, including Apex Magazine, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Nine, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Ten, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Twelve, Bloodchildren: Stories by the Octavia E. Butler Scholars, Fantasy Magazine, The Long List Anthology, The Long List Anthology Volume 2, Nebula Awards Showcase 2016, PodCastle, Some of the Best From Tor.com, The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction on Tor.com, Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany, Tor.com, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2016, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2018, and Worlds Seen in Passing: Ten Years of Tor.com Short Fiction.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kacen_Callender

Kacen Callender (born September 19, 1989) is a Saint Thomian author of children’s fiction and fantasy, best known for their Stonewall Book Award and Lambda Literary Award—winning middle grade debut Hurricane Child (2018).^[1] Their fantasy novel, Queen of the Conquered, is the 2020 winner of the World Fantasy Award,^[2] and King and the Dragonflies won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.^[3][4]

Rena Barron grew up in small-town Alabama, where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena loves all things science fiction and fantasy, ghosts, and superheroes. Rena is the author of the young adult fantasy series Kingdom of Souls, which the School Library Journal called a ‘masterful tale,’ in a starred review. Rena is also the author of the superhero middle grade contemporary fantasy series set in Chicago, Maya and the Rising Dark, a 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist.

Kyrstin Johnson

Women’s Gymnastics • All Around

Hi, I’m Kyrstin Johnson — a Division I gymnast at Temple University from Baltimore, Maryland! Before competing for Temple, I made history at Talladega College as a 4x All-American gymnast and National Vault Champion, helping lead the inaugural gymnastics team to national recognition.

https://owlsports.com/sports/womens-gymnastics/roster/kyrstin-johnson/18433

Attended Talladega College from 2023-2024. Johnson was the first gymnast to commit to Talladega College and became the first HBCU gymnast in Alabama. She achieved numerous milestones, including being the first four-time All-American and vault champion from an HBCU and holding the highest records in vault, bar, floor, and all-around for Talladega. Johnson led her team to be the first HBCU gymnastics squad to win an NCAA competition, earning first place in the all-around. She also became the first HBCU gymnast to win national titles in vault and other individual events, securing gold, silver, and bronze medals, and was named Collegiate Gymnast of the Year.

https://www.nedavenport.com/about

Nia “N.E.” Davenport is an award-winning Science Fiction/Fantasy author who writes stories that blend magic, mayhem, and deadly heroines. She attended the University of Southern California and studied Biological Sciences and Theatre Arts. She also has an M.A. in Secondary Education.