Category: Racial Justice

Ruby Maddox passed away on April 17, 2025.

https://www.leadersofthefreeworld.org/about-the-directors.html

Ruby Maddox has spent more than 15 years in the field of higher education and experiential learning. Her most recent position was as the study abroad advisor and internship coordinator, for the McCulloch Center Global initiatives; a 2015 Paul Simon Awardee for excellence in international education. Ruby received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, majoring in Public Policy and Urban Communities, and her M.S. from Bay Path University in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy. Ruby is the co-founder of Gardening the Community, a Black-led food security and environmental justice organization in Springfield, MA and owner of Direct Your Purpose, a practice that helps individuals and organizations move from aspiration to action toward their goals.

https://veganezer.com/about

Born and raised in England with Nigerian roots, I’ve been passionate about cooking since the age of 12. In March 2019, my journey took a transformative turn when I became vegan after losing my aunt to cancer. Having also lost both of my parents to the disease, I’ve committed to living a healthier, plant- based lifestyle—and inspiring others to do the same.

On my platform, I share a mix of everyday recipes and vibrant dishes inspired by flavours from around the world, including my Nigerian heritage and Caribbean influences. My goal is to show that cooking can be fun, flavourful, and accessible for everyone.

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

Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986)^[1] is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of ten NAACP Image Awards ^[2][3][4][5] and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/17/nx-s1-5318738/john-kani-athol-fugard-black-panther-south-africa

Actor, playwright and activist John Kani is a legend in South Africa. He was arrested, beaten and almost left for dead because of his work developing and starring in plays that were often searing indictments of apartheid. But he didn’t let up.

“When you grow up in a war torn or an oppressive regime and you are at the receiving end of that injustice, born in you, inside, is an unbroken commitment to the liberation of your people,” Kani said.

Kani is perhaps best known in the United States for voicing Rafiki in two Lion King movies and playing King T’Chaka in Black Panther and Captain America: Civil War.

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/67385/Pittsfield-Man-To-Receive-Black-Excellence-award-.html

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Kamaar Taliaferro of Pittsfield will recognized with the 2022 Black Excellence award as part of the Black Excellence on the Hill event.  

This awards event, held annually by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC), commemorates Black community leaders. The MBLLC seeks to highlight the heritage and work of those belonging to the Black diaspora through a virtual Black Excellence on the Hill celebration. L

Taliaferro was nominated by state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.

https://www.umass.edu/news/article/umass-amherst-food-medicine-program-awards-six-mini-grants-western-massachusetts

Kamaar Taliaferro, also known as the Grumpy Gardener, who works with local gardeners and elementary students in Pittsfield, will spend his $759 mini-grant distributing seedlings to gardeners, planting potatoes in community and educational gardens and engaging youth in the hands-on process. “I am extremely grateful to everyone at UMass who envisioned this microgrant program,” Taliaferro said.

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

Kaliya Lincoln (born April 23, 2006) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2023 Pan American Games champion on floor exercise and in the team event, and 2021 Junior Pan American champion on vault and floor.

https://hayes.house.gov/biography

Jahana Hayes represents Connecticut’s 5th District in the United States House of Representatives. The district spans northwest and central Connecticut and includes Danbury, Litchfield County, the Farmington Valley, the Naugatuck Valley, Meriden, and her hometown of Waterbury. She serves on the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the House Agriculture Committee where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_H._Dickerson

Mary H. Dickerson (October 22, 1830 – July 1, 1914) was an African American businesswoman and clubwoman. Dickerson founded several women’s groups in the New England area and in Newport, Rhode Island. Her dress shop catered to prominent clients in Newport and she was the first Black woman to open a shop on her block on Bellevue Avenue.

https://www.si.com/golf/ken-griffey-jr-explains-how-he-became-a-photographer-at-this-years-masters

Ken Griffey Jr.’s surprise presence at this year’s Masters as a photographer is inspiring. The 55-year-old who eclipsed baseball’s precipice is still learning on the job, which he admits.

Griffey took up photography as a second career years ago following his Hall of Fame baseball career. He’s been credited for shooting MLB, NFL and MLS games, as well as IndyCar events. He recently shot the MLB Tokyo Series in Japan, which began the new baseball season. He has plenty of experience behind the lens, but he acknowledged capturing the chase for the green jacket is a new challenge.

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/08/nx-s1-5312006/we-want-the-funk-pbs-documentary

We Want the Funk!, an expansive, emotive, celebratory documentary looking at one of history’s most important musical genres, begins simply.

Legendary studio musician Marcus Miller picks up his bass guitar and thumps out a funky, percussive rhythm. Which then builds into a full-on groove by James Brown, leading to an existential question – asked over the course of the film to people like Miller, Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton, The Roots’ Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and Talking Heads’ David Byrne.

What exactly is the funk?