Category: Black Excellence

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Pierre Laguerre, founder and CEO of Fleeting. Laguerre was born in Haiti and came to the United States when he was 15. After emigrating to the United States, he spent his teen years living with his family in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. According to Laguerre, it was a tough neighborhood to grow up in where drug-dealing was prevalent.

https://stephanieyeboah.com/about

Stephanie’s active and influential presence within the creator space began over 15 years ago with her blog. Her work is a testament to her commitment to the industry and status as one of its first original bloggers.

Stephanie writes and creates content surrounding relevant and personal subjects, including plus-size fashion, body image, beauty, travel, and lifestyle, and provides witty, raw takes, perspectives, and commentary on pop culture.

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

Paul Tazewell is an American costume designer for the theatre, dance, and opera and television. After training at New York University Tisch School of the Arts he started his career on Broadway. He went on to win a Tony Award and an Emmy Award as well as a nomination for an Academy Award.

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/nx-s1-5222858/nikki-giovanni-poet-obituary

The renowned poet Nikki Giovanni has died. Giovanni died on Monday, Dec. 9, following her third cancer diagnosis, according to a statement from friend and author Renée Watson. She was 81. “We will forever be grateful for the unconditional time she gave to us, to all her literary children across the writerly world,” said poet Kwame Alexander in the statement.

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/16/934758657/michael-kiwanuka-tiny-desk-home-concert

Michael Kiwanuka: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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

Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1987) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is currently signed to Polydor Records.^[3] His debut album Home Again (2012) went gold in the United Kingdom, while his second album Love & Hate (2016) debuted at the top of the charts.^[4] He has been nominated for numerous honours, including Brit Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Music Awards, and Grammy Awards. He won the BBC‘s Sound of… in 2012 and the Mercury Prize in 2020. His most recent album, Small Changes, was released in November 2024.

https://apha.org/about-apha/executive-board-and-staff/apha-staff/georges-c-benjamin-md

Georges C. Benjamin, MD is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders because he speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on our nation today. From his firsthand experience as a physician, he knows what happens when preventive care is not available and when the healthy choice is not the easy choice. As executive director of APHA since 2002, he is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation.

https://www.uti.edu/blog/graduate-stories/mmi-grad-harley-davidson-tech

At just 25, recent MMI Orlando graduate Paris McGowan didn’t plan on making history — it just sort of happened! She has become the first Black female Harley-Davidson® technician in Missouri.

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/03/nx-s1-5213686/mickalene-thomas-artist

Mickalene Thomas makes art that ‘gives Black women their flowers’