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: Tasha Smith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasha_Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971)[2] is an American actress and director. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series Boston Common (1996–97), and later appeared in numerous movies and television series. Smith has appeared in the films The Whole Ten Yards (2004), Daddy’s…
Black Excellence: Aaron Ford
https://www.npr.org/2026/11/04/g-s1-151138/midterms-ford-nevada-governor-lombardo RENO, Nev. – In what was considered one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the U.S., Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford unseated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, according to an Associated Press race call. The Democrat will be the first Black governor of a state west of the Mississippi…
Black Excellence: Jermaine Downey
Q&A with Jermaine Downey: Piping was given to me; it’s time to give it back Former Armed Forces captain believes North Preston bagpipe program will give youth a global reach An instrument close to the heart of many Nova Scotians is finding a special place in the community of North…
Black Excellence: Boatamo Mosupyoe
https://www.csus.edu/news/newsroom/stories/2026/4/ati.html Boatamo Mosupyoe grew up in a place and time when the color of her skin determined where she could play, go to school, or even live. Her early education in Apartheid South Africa was little more than training to be a servant in a white home. Instead, the beloved…
Black Excellence: D’Von Myles
https://www.atlantiscomfort.com/about-us Our CEO Owner and CEO D’Von Myles believe in offering straightforward service that isn’t clouded by gimmicks but, rather, is backed by years of experience and customer satisfaction. When it comes to your HVAC system, you want to ensure you not only have a system that will work, but…
Black Excellence: Lubelo Mthenjana
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/25/g-s1-149089/magic-magicians-south-africa-school-students Dressed in a sharp black three-piece suit and a dapper yellow bow tie, Lubelo Mthenjana stands alone on a dark stage, taking in the last few seconds of quiet before the curtain opens. He takes a deep breath as his name is announced. Then he opens his arms wide…
Black Excellence: Teri Johnson
Founder Teri Johnson Teri has been in enamored with fragrance for as long as she can remember. As a child growing up in Texas, she has vivid memories of exploring her favorite aunt’s collection of exotic perfumes and feeling as if an entire universe had opened up for her. She…
Black Excellence: Rufus Harley Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Harley Rufus Harley Jr. (May 20, 1936 – August 1, 2006) was an American jazz musician known primarily as the first jazz musician to adopt the Great Highland bagpipe as his primary instrument. Harley became inspired to learn the bagpipe after seeing the Black Watch perform in John F. Kennedy’s…
Black Excellence: Zyearre Amoah
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/23/nx-s1-5797959/one-university-elevating-black-students When Zyearre Amoah was a student at Sacramento State in 2023, there were times when he felt like the only Black student. “There were African-American students on our campus,” he recalls. But at a sprawling state university with more than 30,000 students, “it just felt like we had to…
Black Excellence: Olaleye Onikuyide
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/23/nx-s1-5983813/gen-z-candidates-midterms-housing-affordability WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — “My bus is running slightly behind,” Olaleye Onikuyide texted ahead of our meeting at a coffee shop on West Hartford’s main street. The 28-year-old Democrat running for Connecticut state representative still made it on time and said he loved riding public transit. Onikuyide also lives…
Black Excellence: Willie Hobbs Moore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Hobbs_Moore Willie Hobbs Moore (May 23, 1934 – March 14, 1994) was an African American physicist and engineer. She is the first African American woman to earn a PhD in physics.[1] From 1961 to 1962 Moore worked at a Junior engineer at Bendix Aerospace Systems, where she calculated the radiation…
Black Excellence: Lauren Newsome
https://voyagehouston.com/interview/meet-lauren-newsome-vintage-confections Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Newsome. Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.My passion for baking started at a young age. I came from a family of amazing home-cooks and bakers…
Black Excellence: Dr. E.J. Josey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Josey Elonnie J. Josey (January 20, 1924 – July 3, 2009) was an African-American activist and librarian. Josey was the first chair of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, having been instrumental in its formation in 1970; served as president of the American Library Association from 1984 to…
Black Excellence: Cheryl L. McAfee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_L._McAfee Cheryl Lynn McAfee, FAIA, NOMA (born c. 1958), is an American architect.[2] She is the CEO of McAfee3, an architecture firm founded by her father Charles F. McAfee.[3][4][5] In 1990, she was the first woman to receive an architecture license in the state of Kansas.[6] McAfee was named one…
Black Excellence: Walter Livingston Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Livingston_(architect) Walter R. Livingston Jr. (May 21, 1922 – June 8, 2011) was an American architect, civic activist and urban planner.[1] His notable works include Edison/Fareira High School, the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, and the Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice. The Zion Baptist Church…
Black Excellence: Taliah Waajid
Taliah Waajid has been natural most of her life and a natural hair stylist for many years. Taliah remembers learning to manage her big coily hair as a child because her mother refused to allow her to get a relaxer/perm. Taliah became a natural hair care Master Stylist and Master…
Black Excellence: Aminatou Sow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminatou_Sow Aminatou Sow (IPA: /əmiːˈnɑːtuː soʊ/; born April 1985) is a United States-based businesswoman, digital strategist,[1] writer,[2] podcast host,[3] interviewer and cultural commentator.[4] She is the co-founder of Tech LadyMafia[5] and she co-hosted the podcast Call Your Girlfriend[6] with her friend, the journalist and editor Ann Friedman.[7] Together, they also…
Black Excellence: Hawa Hassan
Basbaas Sauce Our Story Start in Somalia, the Country Hawa Hassan Calls home In 2015, our Founder Hawa Hassan craved what she couldn’t find: sauces that tasted like home. Inspired by heirloom recipes from her birth country, Basbaas brings the everyday flavors of the African continent to eaters everywhere. Hawa…
Black Excellence: Skyler Mapes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/valentinadidonato/2021/03/11/meet-the-woman-building-multigenerational-wealth-with-calabrian-olives Soon after Skyler Mapes met her now-husband Giuseppe in 2014, he took her to his hometown of Le Castella, Calabria. In addition to meeting his parents, she also met his family’s olive trees, which date back three generations. Then in Texas years later, the couple thought up the idea…
Black Excellence: Raymond Smith
https://www.indigenecellars.com/the-origin Raymond Smith, founder of Indigené Cellars celebrates the origin of the terroir in every bottle of wine he makes. After years of bottling and tasting both fruit off the vine and wine, Smith has found his niche making wines that, as the land, are in a constant state of…
Black Excellence: Liz Rogers
Meet the Founder Executive Chef Liz Rogers grew up learning by her mother’s and grandmother’s sides, turning their wisdom into culinary artistry. She went from beloved local restaurants to founding Creamalicious in 2021—one of the first nationally distributed ice cream brands founded by an African American woman. Today, Chef Liz…
Black Excellence: Earl Ransom
https://www.nofavt.org/earl-ransom Board Member Born and raised at RockBottom Farm, Earl Ransom is a second-generation steward of one of Vermont’s pioneering organic farms and a longtime supporter of NOFA’s mission. He returned home in 1994 to rebuild the dairy herd, certify the farm organic, and ultimately launch the Strafford Organic Creamery,…
Black Excellence: Dr. Marva Tutt
https://www.drmarvatutt.org/about-dr-marva-tutt Dr. Marva Jean Tutt is an educator of nearly 30 years, an author, a podcast host, and the founder of Learning Futures Collective. Through The HR Educator, she helps aspiring and nontraditional Georgia educators pass the GACE and thrive in the classroom. Through Dear Black Woman, God Said, she…
Black Excellence: Angie Nixon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Nixon Angela Nixon (born February 27, 1984)[1][2] is an American politician and businesswoman who has served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives since 2020. A member of the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, she is the Democratic nominee in the 2026 United States…
Black Excellence: Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson
https://www.resiliencedancecompany.com/jorrell-lawyer-jefferson Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson is a choreographer and interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges contemporary dance, opera, and theatrical performance. He holds a BA in Music and an MFA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from Sam Houston State University. As a performer, Jorrell has worked with renowned choreographers including Jessica…
Black Excellence: Melani Sanders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melani_Sanders Melani Sanders is an American content creator and social media influencer. She is the founder of the We Do Not Care Club, the club for women in “perimenopause, menopause and post menopause. We are putting the world on notice that we simply do not care much anymore.” The club…
Black Excellence: Gloria Ford Gilmer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Ford_Gilmer Gloria C. Gilmer (née Ford; June 28, 1928 – August 25, 2021) was an American mathematician and educator, notable for being the first African American woman to publish a non-PhD thesis. Gilmer was born in Baltimore, Maryland on June 28, 1928. She studied for her Bachelor of Science degree…
Black Excellence: Lucille Dixon Robertson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Dixon_Robertson Lucille Dixon Robertson (27 February 1923 – 23 September 2004) was a jazz double-bassist. She grew up in New York City and she successfully auditioned for the All City High School Orchestra. She studied under Frederick Zimmermann of the New York Philharmonic for 15 years.[1] https://www.knkx.org/jazz/2023-03-04/lucille-dixons-years-of-good-music-making-as-bassist-and-bandleader A church pianist,…
Black Excellence: Divinity Roxx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinity_Roxx Divinity Roxx (b. 1976) is a two-time Grammy-nominated American recording artist, producer, composer, musician, and author. She was born Debbie Walker to parents Beverly Walker and Raymond Walker Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia. She legally changed her name to Divinity Roxx in 2006.[1][2][3] Divinity’s work includes elements of funk, rock,…
Black Excellence: Bryan Washington
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/bryan-washington Bryan Washington is a fiction writer capturing the fragile beauty of modern relationships in stories shaped by place, memory, and the quiet rituals of daily care. His novels and short stories feature queer men of color and their inherited and chosen families as they live alongside one another—sometimes gently,…
Black Excellence: Chip Thomas
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/chip-thomas Chip Thomas is a public artist transforming overlooked and neglected spaces into powerful public works grounded in community histories and present-day experiences. Most of Thomas’s works are sited on the Navajo Nation and made in collaboration with the Diné People. He began his artistic work during his 36-year career…
Black Excellence: Rodney McMillian
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/rodney-mcmillian Rodney McMillian is an artist exploring how history and socioeconomic conditions determine experience and belonging in the United States, and particularly in the American South. His practice extends across media—installation, sculpture, painting, video, and performance—and he often incorporates thrifted domestic objects like blankets, sheets, carpets, old mattresses, and broken…
Black Excellence: Trajal Harrell
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/trajal-harrell Trajal Harrell is a choreographer and dancer bringing different dance traditions into dialogue with each other and creating speculative moments of coexistence and interaction. Harrell transforms extensive research about dance history into what he calls a “fictitious archive,” in which the geographic, temporal, or social barriers that separated dance…
Black Excellence: Maaza Mengiste
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/maaza-mengiste Maaza Mengiste is a fiction writer depicting the moral and personal harms of political conflict in works that render both the intimate textures of individuals’ lives and the broad sweep of historical events unfolding around them. She grounds her novels in extensive research and inhabits multiple historical and fictional…
Black Excellence: Ellora Derenoncourt
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/ellora-derenoncourt Ellora Derenoncourt is a labor economist and economic historian uncovering the historical roots of racial disparities in wealth and economic mobility in the United States. For her research on labor market standards, wage inequality, and economic policies, Derenoncourt builds innovative datasets and leverages real-world historical events as starting points…
Black Excellence: Annie Easley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Easley Annie Jean Easley (April 23, 1933 – June 25, 2011) was an American computer scientist who contributed significantly to the beginning iterations of NASA’s rocket technologies.
Black Excellence: John Urschel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Urschel John Cameron Urschel Jr. (born June 24, 1991) is a Canadian mathematician and former professional football guard.[1][2] He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. Urschel played his entire NFL career with Baltimore before…
Black Excellence: Fern Hunt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern_Hunt Fern Yvette Hunt (born January 14, 1948) is an African American[1] mathematician known for her work in applied mathematics and mathematical biology.[2] She currently works as a researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where she conducts research on the ergodic theory of dynamical systems.[3] Hunt was…
Black Excellence: Euphemia Lofton Haynes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemia_Haynes Martha Euphemia Lofton Haynes (September 11, 1890 – July 25, 1980) was an American mathematician and educator. She was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics, which she earned from the Catholic University of America in 1943.[1] Euphemia Lofton was the first child and only…
Black Excellence: Kate Okikiolu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Okikiolu Kate Adebola Okikiolu (born 1965) is a British mathematician.[2] She is known for her work with elliptic differential operators as well as her work with inner-city children.[3] Okikiolu was born in 1965 in England. Her father was George Olatokunbo Okikiolu, a renowned Nigerian mathematician[4] and the most published black…
Black Excellence: David Blackwell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blackwell David Harold Blackwell (April 24, 1919 – July 8, 2010) was an American statistician and mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory, and statistics.[2] He is one of the eponyms of the Rao–Blackwell theorem,[3] and is also known for the Blackwell channel, Blackwell’s contraction…
Black Excellence: Dudley Weldon Woodard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Weldon_Woodard Dudley Weldon Woodard (October 3, 1881 – July 1, 1965) was a Galveston-born American mathematician and professor, and the second African-American to earn a PhD in mathematics; the first was Woodard’s mentor Elbert Frank Cox, who earned a PhD from Cornell in 1925. He received his B.A. degree from…
Black Excellence: Sabrina Strings Ph.D.
https://news.ucsb.edu/people/sabrina-strings Sabrina Strings, Ph.D. is Professor and North Hall Chair of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a recipient of the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health and Department of Sociology. A certified yoga teacher, her work…
Black Excellence: Anise Vance
Anise Vance is a writer from the African and Iranian diasporas. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden. As a Mitchell Scholar, he received an MPhil in Geography from Queen’s University Belfast. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and currently lives in North Carolina with his…
Black Excellence: Rob Crisp
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/22/nx-s1-5973302/unarmed-911-responders-police-reform On a recent Wednesday in Durham, N.C., Rob Crisp and Allie Craft were on a mission, equipped with snacks, bottled water and hygiene kits. They are part of Durham’s unarmed community response team, and they were looking for a man someone called 911 about. “Our notes say we got…
Black Excellence: Denée Benton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den%C3%A9e_Benton Denée Benton (born December 31, 1991[1]) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her performance as Natasha Rostova in the 2016 musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.[2][3] Benton’s other Broadway credits…
Black Excellence: Alvin B. Tillery, Jr.
https://polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/alvin-tillery.html Alvin B. Tillery, Jr.’s research and teaching interests are in the fields of American politics and political theory. His research in American politics focuses on racial and ethnic politics, American political development, and social movements. His research in political theory focuses on American political thought and critical race theory.
Black Excellence: Jasmin Savoy Brown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmin_Savoy_Brown Jasmin Savoy Brown (born March 21, 1994) is an American actress. She[a] is known for starring in the thriller drama series Yellowjackets (2021–present) and the slasher franchise Scream (2022–present). Brown appears in the supernatural series The Leftovers (2015–2017) and the legal drama series For the People (2018–2019), the slasher…
Black Excellence: Robin Rue Simmons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Rue_Simmons Robin Rue Simmons (born March 12, 1976) is an American former politician and national leader for local reparations for African Americans.
Black Excellence: Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
https://beatty.house.gov/about/about-rep-joyce-beatty Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is a native Ohioan with a strong history of connecting people, policy, and politics to make a difference. Since 2013, Beatty has proudly represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District. In the 117th Congress, Beatty served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. In the 119th Congress, Beatty…
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Black Excellence: Tatyana Ali
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/13/nx-s1-5966885/birth-black-and-indigenous-maternal-health Actor and singer Tatyana Ali has become an important voice in a growing movement to improve maternity health outcomes for Black and Indigenous mothers and babies by addressing systemic racism and inequity in maternity care. Ali has been calling for reproductive justice since experiencing what she calls “obstetric violence”…
Black Excellence: Dwight Williams
https://jbhe.com/2024/10/seven-black-scholars-receive-faculty-appointments-at-colleges-and-universities Dwight Williams has been named to the Kurt D. Kaufman Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. He has been a faculty member with the college since 2015, and previously held a two-year appointment as the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry.…
Black Excellence: Espelencia Baptiste
Kalamazoo College has appointed six faculty members as endowed chairs, recognizing their achievements as professors. Endowed chairs are positions funded through the annual earnings from an endowed gift or gifts to the College. The honor reflects the value donors attribute to the excellent teaching and mentorship that occurs at K…
Black Excellence: Mars Storm Rucker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Rucker Mars Storm Rucker (born January 9, 1997) is an American actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, writer, collaborative artist, musician, filmmaker and curator. They are best known for being the first out nonbinary and genderqueer person on Broadway.[1] They made their Broadway debut in 2019 as Alline Bullock, Tina Turner’s sister…
Black Excellence: jaamil olawale kosoko
https://www.jaamil.com/about jaamil olawale kosoko is a multi-spirited Nigerian American author, performance artist, educator, and curator of Yoruba and Natchez descent, originally from Detroit, MI. Their conceptual and emergent practice fluidly moves across live performance, video, sculpture, and poetry integrating ritual, spiritual inquiry, and embodied poetics. Through Black critical studies and…
Black Excellence: L’Rain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Rain Taja Cheek, known professionally as L’Rain, is an American experimentalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and curator known primarily as the lead vocalist and songwriter of her eponymous band.[1][2] L’Rain has been recognized for experimental music that draws on a vast number of traditions and genres[3][4] in a practice and aesthetic Cheek…
Black Excellence: Tamara Melton
https://www.thespruceeats.com/tamara-melton-5199875 Tamara Melton, MS, RDN, LD is a registered dietitian and educator with over 15 year’s experience in nutrition communications and program development. Tamara owns TSM Nutrition Consultants, where she works with organizations to create evidence-based nutrition and health education content for consumers.
Black Excellence: Manu Katché
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Katch%C3%A9 Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion style.
Black Excellence: “Correct the Map” UN Resolution
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/04/nx-s1-5958611/africa-world-map-un-vote LAGOS, Nigeria — The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a resolution aimed at changing the way Africa and other regions are represented on world maps. The “Correct the Map” resolution, introduced by the West African country of Togo on behalf of the African Group (the 54 African…
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Black Excellence: Experience Unlimited (E.U.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_Unlimited Experience Unlimited (also known as simply E.U.) is a Washington, D.C.–based go-go/funk band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s.[2] Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot, the group has had a fluctuating membership over the years, but they have maintained a fairly…
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Black Excellence: Taisha Paggett
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taisha_paggett Taisha Paggett (known professionally as taisha paggett[1]) is a Los Angeles–based choreographer and artist. paggett is a faculty member at University of California, Riverside in the Department of Dance.[2] She has experience working both onstage and in gallery settings. paggett was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial and Made…
Black Excellence: Shatara Michelle Ford
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatara_Michelle_Ford Shatara Michelle Ford is an American director, writer, and producer. Their feature film directorial debut Test Pattern (2019) received critical acclaim.[1] In 2024, Ford directed, wrote, and produced Dreams in Nightmares following three friends roadtripping across the Midwestern United States in search of their friend who has disappeared off…
Black Excellence: Wally Badarou
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola “Wally” Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work as a session musician with a wide variety…
Black Excellence: Jay Jurden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jurden Jay Jurden is an American comedian, writer, and actor. His work has been recognized by Just for Laughs, Time Out New York, Vulture, and Variety. He was a staff writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart.
Black Excellence: d. Sabela grimes
d. Sabela grimes, a trans-media storyteller, sonic ARKivist, movement composer. Improvisational systems and collaboration are at the heart of his creative practice, inhaling through socio-historical observation, self-examination and speculative meanderings, exhaling through layers of interconnected sonic, visual and kinesthetic arrangements. Sabela be investing in the poetics of assemblage, the magic…
Black Excellence: Ndlovu Youth Choir
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndlovu_Youth_Choir The Ndlovu Youth Choir is a South African musical group founded in 2009. Their debut studio album Africa (2019) debuted number one in South Africa. https://www.2oceansvibe.com/entertainment/ndlovu-youth-choir-pays-tribute-to-late-country-music-legend-dolly-parton-watch Ndlovu Youth Choir Pays Tribute To Late Country Music Legend Dolly Parton [Watch] Dolly would have loved it.
Black Excellence: Dr. David Ragland
Interview with DAVID RAGLAND R4S: David, what do you know about your family’s heritage? DR: Well, I am originally from St Louis, Missouri. My mother is from Detroit, Michigan. My maternal grandfather was of Gullah Geechee descent, while my maternal grandmother was black and indigenous, though we don’t know from…
Black Excellence: Ben Passmore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Passmore Ben Passmore (born 1983)[1] is an American comics artist and political cartoonist. His book Your Black Friend was originally self-published in 2016 and then reissued by Silver Sprocket in 2018. The book is a collection of short vignettes offering the experiences of a black man in a world of…
Black Excellence: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahya_Abdul-Mateen_II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (/ˈjɑːjɑː/;[1] born July 15, 1986[2]) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films Aquaman (2018) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7…
Black Excellence: Dezi Bing
https://www.marquee.digital/role/dez-bing Dezi is an actress, writer, voice over artist, and keynote speaker whose recent work includes starring in Shatara Michelle Ford’s sophomore film “Dreams in Nightmares,” Wig Out, written by Academy Award™ Winner for Best Picture: Tarell Alvin McCraney, and working with Jackbox Games to voice ‘the host’ of one…
Black Excellence: Nyesha Arrington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyesha_Arrington Nyesha Joyce Arrington (born 1981) is an American chef, television personality, and restaurateur. She was a contestant on Top Chef: Texas season 9; and has been on various television shows, including as a mentor and judge on Fox’s Next Level Chef.[1][2] Arrington formerly was a chef and partner at…
Black Excellence: Lauryn Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Williams Lauryn Williams (born September 11, 1983) is an American sprinter and bobsledder.[1] She was the gold medalist in the 100 meter dash at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2007 World Championships, and 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She won…
Black Excellence: Kohenet Shoshana A Brown
https://www.rootedpathways.llc/illuminator Kohenet Shoshana A Brown, LMSW Gratitude I give gratitude and reverence to my ancestors who crossed the Atlantic… those of circumstance from Eastern Europe, and those by force through the shores of Senegal. I honor my ancestors who picked strawberries and my grandmother Louise who refused and danced her…
Black Excellence: Professor Randolph M. McLaughlin
https://www.nfllp.com/attorney-profiles/randolph-m-mclaughlin Professor Randolph M. McLaughlin, a graduate of Columbia College and Harvard Law School, became Of Counsel to Newman Ferrara LLP in September 2011. Professor McLaughlin is a faculty member at Pace University School of Law, where he teaches courses focusing on civil rights, litigation, labor law, voting rights, civil…
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Black Excellence: Justin Dunnavant
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/justin-dunnavant-african-cultural-archaeology-maroon-caribbean-slavery Poisons and booby traps, underwater roads and tricky disguises — these are the survival tactics perfected by the Maroon, runaway slave communities that fanned out across the Caribbean in the 18th century. Their stories have been largely untold. That’s about to change. The word “maroon” is derived from the…
Black Excellence: Nadia Gramby
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/11/nx-s1-5678523/maternity-desert-birth-midwife-black-moms-babies Nadia Gramby cherishes quiet moments with her baby girl River Emmanuel, who’s starting to talk. They exchange snuggles and baby coos each morning. “Did you sleep well last night?” Gramby asks her little girl, who has dark curls and a big smile. Besides being a mother of two and…
Black Excellence: Jacqueline Woodson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Woodson Jacqueline Amanda Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and young adolescents. She is best known for Miracle’s Boys, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. After serving as the Young People’s Poet…
Black Excellence: Monica Basey
https://www.mydnaturals.com/about-3 Welcome to Mydnaturals, where the health of your hair and skin is nurtured by the power of nature, ethically sourced and crafted with care. My journey into the world of natural care products began over a decade ago, fueled by a personal passion for creating my own formulations. For years,…
Black Excellence: Charles “Chuck” Harrison
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_%22Chuck%22_Harrison Charles “Chuck” Harrison (September 23, 1931 – November 29, 2018)[1] was an American industrial designer, speaker and educator. He was the first African-American executive to work at Sears, Roebuck and Company, starting in 1961 as a designer and eventually becoming manager of the company’s entire design group. He was…
Black Excellence: Morgan Little
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) continues to raise concerns about the future of its sex education programs following a lawsuit filed in response to federal policy changes impacting the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. The suit, filed earlier this month by PPGNY and several other affiliates, challenges a…
Black Excellence: Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizzmekia_Corbett-Helaire Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Shanta Corbett-Helaire (née Corbett, born January 26, 1986)[1] is an American viral immunologist. She is an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute since June 2021, and was named…
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Black Excellence: Ashani Mfuko
As seen on OWN, CBS, SPECTRUM NEWS, and HGTV, Ashani Mfuko is an Award-Winning Cultural Competency Coach, Confident Communication Strategist, and the Host and Producer of the Anti-Racism School Is In Session™ Podcast. She is also a Digital Content Creator, Influencer, Professional Dancer, and the CEO of Ashani Mfuko Consulting…
Black Excellence: Chainey Umphrey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainey_Umphrey Albert Chainey Umphrey (born August 2, 1970)[1][2] is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men’s national artistic gymnastics team and competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping the U.S. team to a 5th-place finish in the team all-around.
Black Excellence: Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam
https://pres-outlook.org/author/jermaine-ross-allam The Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam serves as the inaugural director of the Center for the Repair of Historical Harms for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is a Ph.D. candidate in social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan. He is currently completing a book tentatively titled Trammeled by the Bonds…
Black Excellence: Michael Sumuel
https://imgartists.com/roster/michael-sumuel In the 26/27 season, American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, lauded as having “vocals that are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera) will return to LA Opera as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by James Conlon, a role he will also sing with the Boston Symphony and Andris Nelsons at…
Black Excellence: YahNé Ndgo
YahNé Ndgo is a writer, singer and the mother of a young woman who is also a creator. YahNé Ndgo has been developing Ubuntu Freedom for well over a decade. As the visionary for the project, she has been working with teams of organizers as partners and advisors to develop…
Black Excellence: K. Melchor Quick Hall
https://humanityinaction.org/person/k-melchor-quick-hall K. Melchor Quick Hall, PhD is a popular educator, writer, and researcher. Hall is the author of Naming a Transnational Black Feminist Framework: Writing in Darkness, and co-editor, with Gwyn Kirk, of Mapping Gendered Ecologies: Engaging with and Beyond Ecowomanism and Ecofeminism. She is both a Resident Scholar at…
Black Excellence: Leilah Babirye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leilah_Babirye Leilah Babirye is a Ugandan artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Outed in her native country as a lesbian and underground LGBTQ+ activist,[1] Babirye’s work is of large-scale ceramics, wooden sculptures, African masks, as well as drawings and paintings on paper. Babirye has had exhibitions at the…
Black Excellence: Joseph Kamaru (KMRU)
http://www.centerartsdesign.org/fellows Joseph Kamaru, aka KMRU, Research Fellow, is a sound artist and experimental ambient musician, raised in Nairobi, Kenya, and currently based in Berlin where he is a student at Universität der Künste Berlin for sound Studies and Sonic Arts Master’s Program. His works deal with the discourse of field…
Black Excellence: Esther Charlestin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Charlestin Esther Charlestin (born 1990)[1] is an American educator and businesswoman,[2] serving as the chair of the Vermont Commission on Women.[3][4] A first-generation Haitian American,[5] Charlestin was the Democratic nominee in the 2024 Vermont gubernatorial election.[6]
Black Excellence: Claudette Gacuti
Claudette Gacuti (b. Burundi) makes objects for a world whose ground will not settle. She conflates scales—geologic, domestic, psychological—to study and adapt to earthly instability. Fear and fantasy cohabit in her forms. Gacuti holds an MS in architecture from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in sculpture from the…
Black Excellence: Black Jewish Liberation Collective
https://www.blackjewishliberation.org We are a collective of Black Jews based in the United States who amplify our voices and uplift our cultural and political organizing.
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Black Excellence: Wambui Kamiru Collymore
Wambui Kamiru Collymore is a visual artist who mainly creates installations. She currently works on themes of decoloniality, womanhood, memory and history and more recently, online dis-identity. Wambui’s work incorporates everyday objects and the use of at least three senses of perception. Her work has been exhibited in Kenya, South…
Black Excellence: Betye Saar
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/28/nx-s1-5910539/betye-saar-dead The artist Betye Saar has died. Saar made three-dimensional art with found objects, tackling stereotypes about Black identity and women. Her longtime gallery, Roberts Projects in Los Angeles, said she died in her sleep in Los Angeles on Sunday — just days shy of her 100th birthday.
Black Excellence: Dr. Lisa Brock
https://thecentergalleries.org/dr-lisa-brock Dr. Brock was born and raised in Glendale, Ohio and holds a BA in history from Howard University and a doctorate in history from Northwestern University. She has spent most of her life involved in social justice activism and higher education. She served as chair of the Humanities, History,…
Black Excellence: Marlon James
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_James_(novelist) Marlon James (born 24 November 1970[1]) is a Jamaican writer. He is the author of five novels: John Crow’s Devil (2005), The Book of Night Women (2009), A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014), which won him the 2015 Man Booker Prize, Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019), and Moon…
Black Excellence: Brittany Harris
Brittany Harris (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and composer. Current Role at WAM: cellist in hollow roots. Selected Performance Experience Elsewhere: Brittany has performed in many major venues such as Saturday Night Live with Shawn Mendez, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with Liam Gallager, appearances at Carnegie Hall performing…
Black Excellence: Jeff Parker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Parker_(musician) Jeff Parker (born April 4, 1967) is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles.[1][2][3] Born in Connecticut and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups. Parker studied at Berklee College of Music and then…
Black Excellence: Eden-Renée Hayes
Eden-Reneé Hayes Eden-Reneé Hayes, Ph.D. (aka Dr. E) is a DEI strategist, educator, speaker, and executive coach. As the CEO of Pluralism Solutions, she leads a consulting firm committed to guiding companies from unconscious obstacles around DEI to realistic movement. She has partnered with organizations on cultural competency, retention, and…
Black Excellence: Erica Schwartz
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/15/nx-s1-5892482/cdc-director-erica-schwartz-senate-confirmation-hearing CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz faced questions in Senate hearing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica_Schwartz Erica G. Schwartz is a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who was Deputy Surgeon General from January 2019 to April 2021. Prior to this, she served in several positions with the U.S.…