Black Excellence: Adegoke Steve Colson

https://www.steinway.com/artists/adegoke-steve-colson

Steinway Artist, ADEGOKE STEVE COLSON is a Grammy® nominated pianist and composer – a native of East Orange, NJ – who has performed internationally as a leader of jazz ensembles ranging from trios to orchestras. His work has been recorded on labels that include Columbia/Sony, Evidence, and Black Saint. His Solo Piano recording Tones For, reflecting on the lives and work of Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, was his most recent release on his label, Silver Sphinx.

Black Excellence: Njoki McElroy

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/266520730/njoki-mcelroy

Born Hilda Nadine Hampton, she was the daughter of J.D. Hampton and Mrs. Marion (Washington) Hampton.

“A Special Gift: Dallas Playwright Njoki McElroy Remembered For Her Commitment To Racial Awareness —

Marian McElroy says her mother had a special gift. “Her ability to tell stories and to verbalize,” she says. Over 50 years, Njoki McElroy, who died last year in October, wrote 15 plays, two books and a plethora of short stories. She directed and produced performances throughout the United States, Africa, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Black Excellence: George Benson

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/19/nx-s1-5114356/jazz-night-in-america-george-benson

Few musicians have seen the success that guitarist, vocalist and cultural icon George Benson has: platinum records, a record of the year Grammy, four Top 10 hits.

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

George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943)[3] is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.

Black Excellence: Onnie Rogers

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/onnie-rogers-phd

Onnie Rogers, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology and human development and director of the Development of Identities in Cultural Environments (DICE) lab at Northwestern University. The DICE Lab conducts research that centers on the perspectives and experiences of racially and ethnically diverse young people. As a developmental psychologist and identity scholar, she is interested in social and educational inequities and the mechanisms through which macro-level disparities are both perpetuated and disrupted at the micro-level of identities and relationships.

Black Excellence: William Jackson Harper

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

William Fitzgerald Harper (born February 8, 1980), known professionally as William Jackson Harper, is an American actor and playwright. He gained acclaim for his role as Chidi Anagonye in the NBC comedy series The Good Place (2016–2020), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.[1][2

https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/upstage-guides-current/primary-trust-upstage-playgoers-guide/interview-with-william-jackson-harper

Teaching Artist Leah Reddy spoke with William Jackson Harper about his work in Primary Trust.