Black Excellence: Freddie Taylor

January 27, 2024

https://sankofaclub.com/bios/

Founder and CEO of Urban Intellectuals and Sankofa Club

Visionary, entrepreneur and philanthropist; just a few words that describe, Freddie E. Taylor, founder and CEO of Urban Intellectuals(UI).

Spurred by the lack of Black history instruction that his sons received in grammar school, Freddie knew the onus was on him to create a new narrative of Black culture, and in 2009, UI was born.

Black Excellence: Kara Jackson

January 27, 2024

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

Kara Jackson is from Oak Park, Illinois and attended Oak Park River Forest High School, where she participated in spoken word.[1][2][3] Jackson also participated in a jazz ensemble at Merit School of Music, and was the Youth Poet Laureate of Chicago in 2018.[4][5][6] She performed at the Louder Than a Bomb 2018 finals and was selected by Patricia Smith for the Literary Award.[4][5][7] In 2019, she was named the United States National Youth Poet Laureate from after submitting an essay on poetry and democracy.[8][9][10] In the same year, she published a chapbook of poetry, Bloodstone Cowboy.[11][12] She studied English at Smith College, graduating in 2023.[13][14] Her work has appeared in Poetry, Frontier Poetry, Rookie Mag, Nimrod Literary Journal, The Lily, and Saint Heron.[15]

Black Excellence: The Pan African Historical Museum USA–Springfield, MA

January 26, 2024

https://www.pahmusa.org/

PAHMUSA (The Pan African Historical Museum USA) is a hidden gem. It was founded in 1995 by Lujuana Hood. Her mission to help preserve the local history of  African Americans continued today. Executive Director Sam Bradley and his team continue building on the foundation Ms. Hood established by offering educational, performing arts, and socially relevant programming for the immediate and surrounding community. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to the exhibitions and programming offered weekly. PAHMUSA Museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays from Noon to 4 PM and Saturdays by appointment. It is located at 1500 Main Street in Springfield. Contact PAHMUSA by calling  (413) 779-5571 or visit them online at www.pahmusa.org. 

Black Excellence: BLK ODYSSY

January 25, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1226124818/tiny-desk-concert-blk-odyssy

The BLK ODYSSY aesthetic ignites all of the human senses and it’s impossible to nail down exactly what type of music he makes after one, two or even three listens. When he arrived at NPR headquarters, Juwan Elcock, aka BLK ODYSSY, pulled out a lifelike severed human head made of silicone and placed it on the Desk. It’s the same head seen in the hands of a woman on the cover of his latest album, DIAMONDS & FREAKS, a project that depicts love and lust as addictive vices.