We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send suggestions to Rachel at rstoler@frcog.org.
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Black Excellence: Zainab Storms
Hi, I’m Zainab, the voice behind this blog. Welcome to A Classic Twist, a blog that shares everyday classic recipes with bold twists and flavors. Here you will find recipes from classics with modern twists to more challenging recipes that require a little more guidance. The recipes are familiar, seasonal,…
Black Excellence: Britney Breaks Bread
Hey there!I’m Britney! I am a self-taught baker, recipe developer, and food lover behind Britney Breaks Bread! Welcome to my blog – let’s make something delicious together. 🙂 What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into a full-blown obsession with all things delicious—from golden, buttery pound cakes to cozy…
Black Excellence: Jocelyn Delk Adams
https://grandbaby-cakes.com/about Jocelyn Delk Adams is the founder, author, television personality, brand ambassador and authority behind the award winning cookbook Grandbaby Cakes and the food website Grandbaby-Cakes.com, which gives her family’s, particularly her grandmother’s, cherished generational recipes her modern spin while preserving their original charm and spirit.
Black Excellence: Mike Johnson
https://mikebakesnyc.com/about Hi everyone! Welcome to Mike Bakes NYC—I’m glad you’re here! I’m Mike Johnson, the recipe developer, cookbook author, food photographer, and content creator behind @mikebakesnyc.
Black Excellence: Ghian Forman
https://emeraldsouth.org/ghian-forman Ghian Foreman is the President and CEO of the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative, which generates community wealth and amplifies local culture through shared pride, power, and investment for Chicago’s mid-South Side. Emerald South attracts and coordinates investment through community convening and collaborative partnerships that increase local ownership and…
Black Excellence: Kim Lewis
https://emeraldsouth.org/kim-lewis Some may call her a risk-taker. Others still may label her a gambler. But only one title suits Kimberly Lewis: entrepreneur. Kim Lewis is the CEO and co-founder of CurlMix, a clean beauty brand for curly hair.
Black Excellence: Fireboy DML
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireboy_DML Adedamola Oyinlola Adefolahan (born 5 February 1996),[2][3] known professionally as Fireboy DML, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. In 2018, he signed a record deal with YBNL Nation, a record label founded by rapper Olamide.[4] His debut studio album, Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps, was released in 2019.[4] He won…
Black Excellence: District Attorney Jason Williams
District Attorney Jason Williams was born in New Orleans in 1972 to Sidney Williams, a master carpenter, and Janice Rogers, a school teacher. He spent much of his childhood in Georgia, where he attended high school at Woodward Academy (formerly the Georgia Military Academy). Throughout his four years of high…
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Black Excellence: Jason Mott
https://jasonmottauthor.com/author/ Bestselling author, National Book Award Winner, Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction Winner, Pushcart Prize nominee, NAACP Image Award nominee, and Carnegie Medals For Excellence Longlist nominee, Jason Mott has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His…
Black Excellence: Pearl Bailey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author.[1] After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946.[2] She received a Special Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello,…
Black Excellence: Brittany Luse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany_Luse Brittany Luse (born 1986 or 1987)[1] is an American podcast host. In October 2022, she became the host of NPR’s current events and culture podcast, It’s Been a Minute. She previously hosted the podcasts For Colored Nerds and The Nod, both about Black culture, and Sampler, about other podcasts.…
Black Excellence: Cleo Laine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleo_Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927 – 24 July 2025) was an English singer and actress known for her scat singing.[1] She was the wife of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec and singer Jacqui Dankworth.…
Black Excellence: Leikeli47
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leikeli47 Leikeli47 (or Leikeli) is an American rapper[1] signed to RCA Records. In 2018, she released her second full-length album, Acrylic.[2] Until 2024, she was known for concealing her face with a bandana or balaclava at all performances and professional appearances.[3]
Black Excellence: Waris Dirie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waris_Dirie Waris Dirie (Somali: Waris Diiriye; born 21 October 1965) is a Somali model, author, actress and human rights activist in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM). From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special ambassador against FGM. In 2002 she founded her own organization in Vienna, the…
Black Excellence: Andrew Hawkins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Hawkins Andrew Austin Wyatt Hawkins[1] (born March 10, 1986) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns and two seasons for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL), where he was…
Black Excellence: Dr. Marcia Faustin
Dr. Marcia Faustin (BS ’07) vaults Team USA gymnastics to success It was a moment that shocked the world. Simone Biles, widely regarded as one of the best gymnasts in Olympic history, withdrew from most of her planned events in the 2021 Tokyo Games due to a debilitating case of…
Black Excellence: Professor Olawale Sulaiman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olawale_Sulaiman Professor Olawale Sulaiman CON (born 1969/1970) is a Canadian and american-trained neurosurgeon, academician and physician executive of nigerian heritage.[1][2] He is the CEO and chief medical director of RNZ Global Ltd, a healthcare development, operations and management company he started in 2010.[3][4][5] He is also the chief medical officer…
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Black Excellence: Remoshay Nelson
https://greatergood.com/blogs/news/remoshay-nelson-thunderbirds United States Air Force Captain, Remoshay Nelson, a native of Douglasville, Georgia, has achieved the heights of her profession in the Air Force. She recently became the first Black American woman to become a member of the elite Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.
Black Excellence: Gevin Fax
https://russbrown.com/meet-gevin-fax-a-fearless-spirit-in-the-motorcycle-world Gevin Fax is a versatile and accomplished individual who has made significant contributions in various fields. From being a musician and actress to starting her career as a motorcycle model, motorcycles have played a pivotal role in her life. Her passion for motorcycles and her mantra of “live your…
Black Excellence: Art Carrington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Carrington Arthur Carrington is an American former professional tennis player. Born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Carrington attended Hampton College on an athletic scholarship.[1] Carrington competed in the American Tennis Association (ATA), which was a version of the USTA for African-American players. He finished runner-up in 1972 and his…
Black Excellence: Malcolm-Jamal Warner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm-Jamal_Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (August 18, 1970 – July 20, 2025) was an American actor, musician and poet. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the…
Black Excellence: Terri Lyne Carrington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Lyne_Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many others. She toured with each of Hancock’s musical configurations (from electric to…
Black Excellence: Indë Francis
https://www.zone3westernave.com/artinprint-7/inde-francis/ https://valleyadvocate.com/2025/07/18/i-have-to-be-the-role-model-that-i-wish-i-had-in-mirror-mirror-multidisciplinary-artist-inde-reclaims-space-for-their-identity/
Black Excellence: Omar Bailey
https://www.fctrylab.com/pages/about OUR SNEAKER STUDIO & LAB IN LOS ANGELES HELPS CREATORS IN ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & BUSINESS BUILD THEIR BRANDS THROUGH EXCITING FOOTWEAR. State of our Art At FCTRY LAb, we constantly innovate to create exciting footwear that turns heads – from fashion models to pro athletes. We’ve setup an end…
Black Excellence: Ufuoma Okharedia
https://www.nerridofoods.com/about We’re glad you’re here. Our passion is to bring the taste of traditional African foods to your tables with little or no hassle. Preparing authentic African dishes could take hours on the stove. Over time, as many Africans migrated from the villages, cities and countries of birth, they left…
Black Excellence: Jim and Sheila Wallace and Karla Trotman
https://www.electrosoftinc.com/about/ Electro Soft, Inc. (ESI) was founded by Jim and Sheila Wallace in 1986. ESI is dedicated to the creation and demonstration of linked component product lines, quality, and service. The company strives for the very best in all three areas and is dedicated to operating on a sound financial…
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Black Excellence: Howard Allen
https://www.maroonsausage.com/our-story Maroon Sausage was created in a collision of cultures that can only happen in a place like New York City, where people from around the country, and the world, come to share in each others’ cultural experiences. That being said, the jerk chicken spice blend used in our sausages…
Black Excellence: Hannah Mayree
https://creativesonoma.org/artist/hannah-mayree/ A banjoist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist, Hannah shares original and traditional banjo compositions as well as harmonies through acoustic live vocal looping and reminds us of the power found in our relationship to the earth, music and community. They co-founded and creatively direct the Black Banjo Reclamation Project which…
Black Excellence: Calvin Duncan
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/14/nx-s1-5464700/the-jailhouse-lawyer-calvin-duncan Wrongly convicted, he became ‘The Jailhouse Lawyer’ — and helped free himself Calvin Duncan was 19 in 1982 when the police arrested him for a murder-robbery in New Orleans. The eyewitness testimony at his trial was unreliable, but Duncan’s lawyer offered only a minimal defense, and he was sentenced…
Black Excellence: Michaela Rose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaela_Rose_(athlete) Michaela Rose (born 13 June 2003) is an American track and field athlete.[1] Rose set a US collegiate indoor track record in 2024 over 600 yards.
Black Excellence: Jerrelle Guy
https://www.chocolateforbasil.com/aboutus Jerrelle is an award-winning author and celebrated food photographer with a passion for cooking, baking and storytelling. She received her Bachelors from the Rhode Island School of Design and her Master’s in Gastronomy from Boston University. She merges her backgrounds to create work that explores the intersection of food,…
Black Excellence: Whitney Roberts
https://cheesegrotto.com/blogs/journal/this-giving-tuesday-10-of-our-sales-go-to-cheese-culture-coalition?srsltid=AfmBOoptu95ZjC0SoED2mzpxbZtKltfEOydiC82mzNE3yOdjYKuuSeBv Founder Whitney Roberts has spent years working in the cheese industry as a monger, maker, and educator. For years she’d seen the lack of diversity and wondered how she could make cheese more accessible to BIPOC individuals. In the summer of 2020, she founded the Cheese Culture Coalition with…
Black Excellence: Kyra James
https://www.ownyourfunk.com/about Kyra (KEER-ah) James is a Professional Food Educator, Certified Cheese Professional (C.C.P.) and innovator in the American artisan food industry with 12+ years experience introducing consumers to the world of artisan cheese and specialty goods! Her passion, or borderline obsession, for non stop food learnings began out of necessity…
Black Excellence: Leap of Dance Academy
https://leapofdanceacademyng.com/#about Daniel Ajala started dancing while in University where his passion for dance grew as he started to research and self train. After graduating university Ajala stayed in his home town to pursue teaching the local kids in his area regardless of cultural expectations to pursue a traditional career. “Dance…
Black Excellence: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Jefferson-Wooden Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (née Jefferson; born February 21, 2001) is an American track and field sprinter. She won the bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres.[2]
Black Excellence: Christian Euman
https://christianeuman.bandcamp.com/album/allemong In the fall of 2014, Christian Euman left his hometown of Chicago and dove headfirst into an unknown future in Los Angeles. He was one of seven musicians selected to study at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, which involved a grueling combination of graduate courses and global…
Black Excellence: Dads on Duty, Shreveport LA
These Fathers Formed “Dads on Duty” to Prevent Violence at a Local High School On Thursday, September 16, 2021, just weeks into the school year, two groups of boys brawled across the courtyard at Southwood High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. The following day, two groups of girls picked up where…
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Black Excellence: Elyse Venerable
https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/06/horse-teeth-hold-historical-clues-about-military-power-and-trade-in-western-africa/
Black Excellence: Brandee Younger
https://brandeeyounger.com Among the most celebrated jazz artists to emerge in the 21st century, Brandee Younger is a harpist, composer and bandleader whose music connects spiritual jazz and classical training to the rhythmic soulfulness of R&B and hip-hop. She grew up on Long Island, where she sang gospel, studied the harp…
Black Excellence: Virgil Abloh
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/25/nx-s1-5309670/make-it-ours-virgil-abloh-robin-givan-louis-vuitton From streetwear to luxury fashion: How Virgil Abloh reshaped an industry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Abloh Virgil Abloh (/ˈæbloʊ/; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which…
Black Excellence: Masego
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masego_(musician) Micah Davis (born June 8, 1993), known professionally as Masego (/məˈseɪɡoʊ/ mə-SAY-goh), is a Jamaican-American musician and singer, known for incorporating the saxophone into his music. Masego released two EPs in 2016, The Pink Polo EP with Medasin, and Loose Thoughts. He gained widespread attention with his collaborative record…
Black Excellence: Alex Isley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Isley Alexandra Isley (born April 16, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. She released her debut EP The Love/Art Memoirs in 2012. Isley has worked with artists including Scarface, Terrace Martin, Masego, 9th Wonder, Rapsody, Tank and the Bangas, and Lucky Daye. Isley has been nominated for two Grammy…
Black Excellence: Steve Ray Ladson
https://www.steverayladson.net/bio Steve Ray is an artist, actor, vocalist, music producer, songwriter, arranger, and musician. His musical talents include banjo, Dobro, piano, Hammond organ, lead guitar, bass guitar, accordion, spoons, and the harmonica. He has written, produced, and is currently traveling the world with 6-time Grammy Award winners and Grammy Lifetime…
Black Excellence: Bobby Carter
https://www.npr.org/people/302983377/bobby-carter Bobby Carter is the host and series producer for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. In 2014, Carter produced his first Tiny Desk concert. Since then, his work has been at the intersection of music, technology, and engagement. He turned a modest Tiny Desk celebration of Black History Month in 2021…
Black Excellence: Titus Kaphar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Kaphar Titus Kaphar is an American contemporary painter and filmmaker whose work reconfigures and regenerates art history to include African-American subjects. His paintings are held in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, New Britain Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Mississippi Museum…
Black Excellence: Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation
https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2025/06/19/nx-s1-5439338/a-former-plantation-becomes-a-space-for-healing-art-and-reparative-history NPR’s Picture Show spoke with Tyler Jones who is part of a narrative studio based in Birmingham called 1504. They have been collaborating with the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation to recenter the stories of Black descendant communities through creative, embodied storytelling.
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Black Excellence: Chi Ossé
https://council.nyc.gov/district-36 Chi Ossé is the Council Member for New York City’s 36th District, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights. He entered politics as an organizer and prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement. At 23 years old, Ossé was elected in 2021 as the youngest member of this Council…
Black Excellence: Lynn Hamilton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Hamilton_(actress) Alzenia Lynn Hamilton (April 25, 1930 – June 19, 2025)[1] was an American actress. She was best known for her recurring roles as Donna Harris, Fred Sanford’s girlfriend and later fiancée on the sitcom Sanford and Son (1972–1977) and Verdie Grant Foster on The Waltons (1973–1981). She also portrayed…
Black Excellence: Otis Davis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Davis Otis Crandall Davis (July 12, 1932 – September 14, 2024) was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He set a new world record of 44.9 seconds in the 400 m and became the first person…
Black Excellence: Marcus Amaker
https://marcusamaker.com/bio/ https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2025/06/17/poet-laureate-charleston-church-shooting Ten years after a white supremacist killed nine parishioners of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the community is still coping with the loss and navigating the impact of the racial attack. Marcus Amaker, the first poet laureate of Charleston, South Carolina, said many…
Black Excellence: Tia Fuller
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tia_Fuller Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music.[1] Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in Pixar’s animated film Soul.…
Black Excellence: Abbey Lincoln
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010),[1] known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s.[2][3] Lincoln made a career out of delivering deeply felt presentations of standards, as well as writing and…
Black Excellence: Lil Hardin Armstrong
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_Hardin_Armstrong Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920s.[1] Her compositions include “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue”, “Don’t Jive…
Black Excellence: Mary Lou Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lou_Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981[1]) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP versions).[2] Williams wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington…
Black Excellence: Jeremiah Collier
https://vicfirth.com/blogs/artist/jeremiah-collier-vf?srsltid=AfmBOor03UBhozVq93KtewbyoeWjLMAE2_S2xBSZ6LjNJTOAj5WZx0xQ I started playing drums in the church at an early age. That’s the place where I molded my passion for the drums and I eventually started playing gigs professionally. Later on I started developing a desire to play other genres of music besides Gospel, RnB and Funk. Playing with…
Black Excellence: Evan Garr
https://www.aldimeola.com/news American Jazz Violinist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJJtKfaNSk
Black Excellence: Stanley Clarke
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/17/g-s1-70053/stanley-clarke-tiny-desk-concert Clarke’s storied career has been awash with showcases in his virtuosity on the acoustic and electric basses. He’s worked with fellow music titans like Chick Corea, George Duke, Jean Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola, and has scored for film and television. From 1974–1976, Clarke dropped a series of…
Black Excellence: Isabella Whittaker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Whittaker Isabella Whittaker (born February 15, 2002) is an American sprinter. She is the North American indoor record holder for the 400 m dash with a time of 49.24 seconds, set on March 15, 2025, in Virginia Beach.[1]
Black Excellence: Saul Nash
https://saulnash.com/pages/about Raised in North East London, Saul Nash is a designer who established his eponymous brand in 2018. At the core of the brand is Nash’s desire to create technical garments for movement; his body of work oscillates between the world of fashion and dance.
Black Excellence: Nicholas Daley
https://nicholasdaley.net/pages/about Community, craftsmanship and culture lie at the heart of Nicholas Daley’s work. Having graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2013, the London-based designer launched his eponymous brand in 2015. Embedded in his lineage, his practise intertwines personal narrative with wider black British and diasporic themes, incorporating tradition, authenticity, and…
Black Excellence: Samuel Boakye
https://www.essence.com/fashion/designer-spotlight-kwasi-paul-samuel-boakye Samuel Boakye finds purpose in synthesizing the creativity of diasporic culture. It’s how he makes sense of the world. His early musical influences, Teddy Pendergrass and Fela Kuti, and his father’s affinity for the global Black musical tradition shaped Boakye’s appreciation for the diaspora’s expansive art styles.
Black Excellence: Tanda Francis
https://www.tandafrancis.com/statment-new Tanda Francis is a Brooklyn based artist with a primary focus of creating public art including monumental African heads. Her work addresses diasporic African people who are too often underrepresented in public art. She sees the rituals and customs rooted in a spiritual and ancestral past as a significant…
Black Excellence: Sly Stone
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/1209525990/sly-stone-obituary Sly Stone, the remarkable, eccentric frontman, singer, songwriter and producer of his family group, Sly & the Family Stone, died in Los Angeles on Monday, June 9. The musical icon had been battling lung disease, according to a statement provided by his family. He was 82.
Black Excellence: Lonnie Bunch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Bunch Lonnie Griffith Bunch III (born November 18, 1952) is an American educator and historian. Bunch is the fourteenth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the first African American and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian. He has spent most of his career as a history museum curator…
Black Excellence: Tunde Adebimpe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunde_Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (pronunciationⓘ; born February 25, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. In April 2025, Adebimpe released his…
Black Excellence: J. Yolande Daniels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Yolande_Daniels J. Yolande Daniels (born 1962) is an American architect, designer and educator. She is a founding principal of studioSUMO, an architecture firm that speaks to socio-cultural landscapes through design.[2] Daniels came to find her voice as a black woman, the figure she often found “objectified or negated in the…
Black Excellence: Ernesta G. Procope
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesta_G._Procope Ernesta Gertrude Procope (née Forster) (2 September 1923 – 30 November 2021) was an American investment banker and insurance executive who was the head of the largest insurance agency run by a Black woman.[1] Ernesta Gertrude Forster was born on Feb. 9, 1923, in Brooklyn and was raised in…
Black Excellence: Big Mama Thornton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mama_Thornton Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984),[1] was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul described Thornton by saying: “Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound frame, and exuberant stage manner had audiences stomping their feet and…
Black Excellence: Chef Kwasi Kwaa
https://www.wcvb.com/article/these-new-england-chefs-are-semifinalists-for-a-james-beard-award/63703946 On a trip to Comfort Kitchen, your palate is your passport. Partners Biplaw Rai and Kwasi Kwaa say the restaurant’s global food concept extends beyond the plates. Their goal is to not only tantalate taste buds, but also track the history behind their ingredients and celebrate spices and culture…
Black Excellence: Ngugi wa Thiong’o
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/29/nx-s1-5415596/ngugi-wa-thiongo-kenyan-writer-dead Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the Kenyan writer and novelist who critiqued colonial rule as well as the post-colonial Kenyan government, died Wednesday in a hospital in Buford, Georgia. He was 87 years old.
Black Excellence: Gloria Gaynor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943),[1][2][3] known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits “I Will Survive” (1978), “Let Me Know (I Have a Right)” (1979), “I Am What I Am” (1983), and her version of “Never Can Say Goodbye” (1974).[4][5]
Black Excellence: Archie Alexander
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Alexander Archibald Alphonso Alexander (May 14, 1888 – January 4, 1958) was an American architect and engineer. He was an early African-American graduate of the University of Iowa and the first to graduate from the University of Iowa’s College of Engineering. He was also a governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Black Excellence: KanKouran West African Dance Company
https://www.jacobspillow.org/events/kankouran-west-african-dance-company-2025/ KanKouran, a beloved pillar of West African dance in Washington, D.C., returns to Jacob’s Pillow this summer after a thrilling Festival 2024 performance. Founded by Artistic Director Assane Konte and the late Abdou Kounta, the company brings together artists from the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean to preserve…
Continue Reading Black Excellence: KanKouran West African Dance Company
Black Excellence: Robert O’Hara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_O%27Hara Robert O’Hara (born c. 1970)[1] is an American playwright and director. He has written Insurrection: Holding History and Bootycandy.[2] Insurrection is a time traveling play exploring racial and sexual identity.[3] Bootycandy is a series of comedic scenes primarily following the character of Sutter, a gay African American man growing…
Black Excellence: Omari Wiles
https://pacnyc.org/bio/omari-wiles-2 Ousmane “Omari” Wiles is an African American West African and Vogue dancer. Wiles is best known as, legendary Omari NiNa Oricci, founder of The House of Nina Oricci [est. Oct. 2019] and Creative Director of Les Ballet Afrik dance company.
Marie Basse-Wiles
https://maimounakeita.com/about-2/ Marie Basse-Wiles was born in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. The Granddaughter of Bambara singer and dancer Maimouna Keita, Marie began her professional career at the age of 9. She began teaching at the age of twelve as a member of the Ballet National of Senegal. Her professional accomplishments include…
Black Excellence: Talise A. Campbell and Weedie Braimah
https://www.djapo.com/artisticdirectors Executive Artistic Director Talise A. Campbell Talise A. Campbell is a dancer, choreographer, director and educator who strives to connect audiences to the beauty of diasporic music, history, art and folklore. Campbell creates multi-disciplinary and socially engaging dance for theater, screen, stage and the public space. Her work is…
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Black Excellence: Charles Rangel
https://gothamist.com/news/charlie-rangel Charles Rangel, a longtime member of Congress from Harlem and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died Monday at age 94. Rangel, born in Harlem in 1930 and known as the “Lion of Lenox Avenue,” was first elected to Congress in 1971, defeating Rev. Adam Clayton Powell for…
Black Excellence: William Hunter Dammond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hunter_Dammond William Hunter Dammond (October 26, 1873 – December 8, 1956) was an American civil engineer. He studied civil engineering at the Western University of Pennsylvania and, in 1893, was the first African American to graduate from that institution. As a black man Dammond found it difficult to secure employment…
Black Excellence: Hattie Peterson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_Scott_Peterson Hattie T. Scott Peterson (1913–1993)[1] is believed to be the first African-American woman to gain a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.[2][3] In 1947, Peterson began working as a survey and cartographic engineer for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).[4] Peterson joined the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in…
Black Excellence: Ralph Brock
https://www.dougoster.com/doug-oster/ralph-brock-was-pennsylvanias-first-african-american-forester It was a box of letters discovered in 1966, which reintroduced the world to Ralph Elwood Brock, the first African-American forester in the United States. They date back to the early 1900s. Since then, the stack of letters, ledgers, and notes from Brock had been stored away at the…
Black Excellence: Toluse Olorunnipa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluse_Olorunnipa Toluse “Tolu” Olorunnipa (Toe-Loo Oh-lo-roon-NEE-pa) is a Nigerian-American journalist and political commentator. He is the first reporter of native African and Nigerian descent to cover the White House.[1] Of Yoruba heritage, Olorunnipa was named the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post in July 2022.[2
Black Excellence: Gwynne Wilcox
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Wilcox Gwynne A. Wilcox is an American attorney who has served on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Career Wilcox is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.[citation needed] She is also a member of the Labor and Employment Law sections of both the American Bar Association…
Black Excellence: Melody Mobley
https://mountainjournal.org/first-black-woman-forester-shares-concerns-about-working-for-us-forest-service Melody Mobley, the first African-American woman forester in the storied land management agency, offers suggestions following a career punctuated by adversity
Black Excellence: Annette Addo-Yobo
https://360westmagazine.com/annette-addo-yobo-miss-texas/
Black Excellence: Traveling Black
https://traveling.black/about-us/ The TB Squad strives to bring you good content that will not only inspire you to gallivant the globe, but also encourage you to teach someone else the things you learn. We have writers, photographers, videographers, storytellers, travel hackers, hotel hustlers and luxury experts. We all work as a…
Black Excellence: Lovie Simone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovie_Simone Lovie Simone Oppong (born November 29, 1998)[1][2] is an American actress, best known for her role as Zora Greenleaf in drama series Greenleaf (2016–2020), and Keisha Clark in the critically acclaimed Netflix teen drama series Forever (2025).
Black Excellence: John Ewing Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ewing_Jr. John Ewing Jr. (born April 18, 1961)[1] is an American politician, minister, former police officer, and the mayor-elect of Omaha, Nebraska. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2025, defeating incumbent mayor Jean Stothert. Previously, Ewing served as Omaha deputy police chief and had been…
Black Excellence: Butcher Brown
https://butcherbrown.com/#bio Butcher Brown’s limitless musical range shows no boundaries by genre and time. The Virginia-bred collective announces their new album Letters From The Atlantic will release on March 28 via Concord Jazz, offering a seamless blend of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, soul, bossa nova and more. The new record moves…
Black Excellence: Anthony Lee
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/11/nx-s1-5381156/trump-federal-workers-labor-union-collective-bargaining Lee is president of NTEU Chapter 282, the union representing close to 9,000 FDA employees.
Black Excellence: Cyril Ramaphosa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former anti-apartheid activist and trade union leader, Ramaphosa is also the president (leader) of the African National Congress (ANC).
Black Excellence: Sampha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampha Sampha Lahai Sisay (born 16 November 1988) is a British singer, songwriter, musician and record producer from Morden, South London.[1] Sampha has collaborated with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, SBTRKT, Jessie Ware, Alicia Keys, Gorillaz, Travis Scott, Kanye West, Solange and others.[2] Sampha has released two solo EPs: Sundanza…
Black Excellence: Linwood Riddick
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/10/nx-s1-5394509/college-grad-sc-state-orangeburg-massacre Linwood Riddick went to Vietnam to serve in the military, at an age when many people choose to go to college. Instead, he pursued his college diploma when many are busy enjoying retirement. On Friday, Riddick graduated from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., two days before his…
Black Excellence: Geoffrey Chanda
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/04/29/g-s1-63165/trump-100-days-hiv-positive-truck-drivers-sex-workers On a morning in early April, Geoffrey Chanda’s phone was going off almost constantly. Truck drivers were calling him. “They are crying: ‘We’ve got no [HIV] medicine. Where do you get [it] from?’ ” says Chanda, 54. For 15 years, Chanda has been meeting truckers in dusty parking lots…
Black Excellence: Rhoda Ray Jones
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2021/05/25/rhoda-ray-jones-gets-marker-springfields-hazelwood-cemetery-civil-rights-nathaniel-lyon-missouri/5187772001 More than a century after her death, an emancipated Black woman finally received a headstone. Rhoda Ray Jones was buried in an unmarked grave at Hazelwood Cemetery. Nearly 100 people visited the cemetery Sunday not just to see the unveiling of the marker for her, but to also recognize…
Black Excellence: Nyla Dinkins
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5380993/national-poetry-out-loud-high-school-students Four teens on why they like poetry District of Columbia: Nyla DinkinsAge: 16Benjamin Banneker Academic High SchoolWashington, D.C.Favorite poem to recite: Learning to Read by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper “Although it is a competition, there’s definitely community,” said Dinkins, who was a finalist in 2024. “I remember some of…
Black Excellence: The Kingdom of Kaabu
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/04/27/g-s1-61299/griots-legendary-africa-archaeology The kingdom of Kaabu held power from the 1500s through the 1800s and included modern-day Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. The story of Kaabu’s royalty and reign has been told for generations through the songs of griots. In fact, much of what’s known about the kingdom and its capital city Kansala…
Black Excellence: Josephine Baker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker Freda Josephine Baker (née McDonald; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French…
Black Excellence: Geoffrey Holder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, director, choreographer, and artist.[2][3] He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in Carib Gold. For his theatre work, he won…
Black Excellence: Angeline Murimirwa
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/04/25/g-s1-62501/time-magazine-icon-most-influential-angeline-murimirwa Angeline Murimirwa of Zimbabwe has really racked up kudos for her work as head of CAMFED, a charity that has enabled millions of girls in five African countries to stay in school — and thrive with the help of mentors. Murimirwa is one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential…