Black Excellence: Kat Riggins
Inspired by the variety and abundance of music in her parents’ collection, it makes sense that her own music is peppered with hints of it all. Make no mistake; however, Kat Riggins is undeniably a BLUES WOMAN! She travels the world with the sole mission of keeping the blues alive and thriving through her Blues Revival Movement.
Black Excellence: Percival Everett
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Everett
Percival Everett (born December 22, 1956)[1] is an American writer[2] and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.
He is best known for his novels Erasure (2001), I Am Not Sidney Poitier (2009), and The Trees (2021), which was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.
Erasure was adapted as the film American Fiction (2023), written and directed by Cord Jefferson, starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, and Leslie Uggams.
Black Excellence: Dara Tucker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dara_Tucker
Dara Tucker (Dara Starr Tucker) is an American singer, songwriter, social commentator and satirist.
Tucker has released four studio albums: All Right Now (2009), Soul Said Yes (2011)[1] The Sun Season (2014), and Oklahoma Rain (2017), as well as a limited-release, live album, Dara Tucker Live in 2013. She was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the 2016 and 2017 Nashville Industry Music Awards.[2] In 2017, the second single from Oklahoma Rain, “Radio”, was named Song of the Year at the Nashville Industry Music Awards. Oklahoma Rain won Jazz Album of the Year. Tucker has performed internationally with her ensemble since 2009. She appeared on the Tavis Smiley Show in 2015 and was the opening act for Gregory Porter in 2016. She won the silver medal in the American Traditions Vocal Competition in 2017.[3]
Black Excellence: Wes Moore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Moore
Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and veteran, serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023.
Black Excellence: Melba Pattillo Beals
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/02/1242106502/beyonce-beatles-blackbird-little-rock-nine
Beyoncé’s recent cover of The Beatles classic “Blackbird” was especially profound to listeners who know that the song pays homage to the Little Rock Nine — a group of Black students who were at the center of the fight to desegregate public schools in the United States.
Her version, which is featured on her new album Cowboy Carter, was even more meaningful to one member of the Little Rock Nine, Melba Pattillo Beals.
Black Excellence: Thandiswa Mazwai
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1241589647/thandiswa-mazwai-tiny-desk-meets-globalfest-2024
Thandiswa Mazwai is one of post-apartheid South Africa’s most influential musicians. For nearly 30 years, she has championed a kind of dance music called Kwaito. The South African genre mixes a variety of rhythms and influences, including hip-hop, reggae, jazz and house music.
Black Excellence: Vaughan Gething
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/21/1239835813/wales-first-black-leader-uk-europe-vaughan-gething
A Zambian-born lawyer has become the first Black head of government in Wales, in the United Kingdom — and in all of Europe.
Black Excellence: Janel Diaz
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/31/1241386011/florida-trans-rights-activist-book-ban-rupaul
A Florida activist creates safe spaces as laws and rhetoric turn against trans rights.
Janel Diaz founded Capital Tea after she struggled during her own transition to find transgender support organizations in Florida’s capital city.
Black Excellence: Cubicle Comedians Nicole Daniels, DeAndre Brown and Lisa Beasley
They lampoon American corporate culture — and the internet is here for it