Black Excellence: Rehan Staton
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/26/harvard-law-school-rehan-staton-graduates
Former Maryland trash hauler graduates from Harvard Law School
Black Excellence: Charlie Wilson
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/05/1179416602/charlie-wilson-tiny-desk-concert
NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk’s unique way of showcasing that talent.
Black Excellence: Brent Reaves
https://www.smokeyjohns.com/our-story/our-team/brent-reaves/
Brent is the president of Smokey John’s, Inc. and is heavily involved in the restaurant’s daily business operations. Brent has been a part of the food service industry for over 20 years. From bussing tables to running large catering operations, Brent has done it all.
Black Excellence: Jubilee Justice
https://www.jubileejustice.org/
Our Vision
We envision an America where the institutional injustices concerning Land, Race and Money, that are rooted in a history of extraction and exploitation, both spiritually and materially transform toward justice, equity and repair. It will require the redistribution of resources, the equal sharing of knowledge and information, cross-racial and personal healing based on a worldview of interdependence and the active acknowledgement of the Earth and soil upon which all life depends as sacred.
Black Excellence: Peter Brathwaite
https://www.peterbrathwaitebaritone.com/about
His pioneering Rediscovering Black Portraiture series, made during the Covid-19 pandemic, reimagines historical depictions of Black subjects with the help of domestic material culture. Pieces from this project were exhibited by King’s College London/Wellcome Trust in Autumn 2021. His book on the series with be published by Getty in Spring 2023. Further details about Peter’s series can be found in Rediscovering Black Portraiture.
Black Excellence: Reuben Wilson
Few are the folks who could cast a literal shadow over the iconic Hammond B-3 organ, nicknamed “the Beast” by many of the jazz musicians who have helmed the hefty 425 lb. instrument. But Reuben Wilson — who died on May 26 at the age of 88 — was one such organist.
Black Excellence: Marie C. Bolden
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/02/1179460206/first-national-spelling-bee-winner-black-girl
When she won the first national spelling bee, Marie C. Bolden dealt a blow to racism