Tag: Black Excellence

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/27/nx-s1-5587549/jack-dejohnette-obituary

Jack DeJohnette, one of the most daring and dynamic jazz drummers of the last 60 years, with a loose-limbed yet exacting beat that propelled a limitless range of adventurous music, died on Sunday October 26 at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, N.Y. He was 83.

DeJohnette had a singular voice at the drums: earthy and elastic, instantly recognizable. Rather than focus the articulation of tempo on his ride cymbal, he often distributed his emphasis around the drum set. He adapted this flowing approach from modern jazz innovators like Roy Haynes as well as avant-garde pioneers like Rashied Ali, devising what he called a multidirectional style.

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

Jack DeJohnette (August 9, 1942 – October 26, 2025) was an American jazz drummer, pianist and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, and John Scofield, DeJohnette was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2007.^[1] He won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for six others.^[2] The Times said that as a drummer “few could rival his virtuosity or his dynamism”.^[3] He recorded more than 35 albums under his own name as a band leader.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_(rapper)

David Orobosa Michael Omoregie (born 5 June 1998), known professionally as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper and actor. He is known for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay. Dave released his debut extended play Six Paths in 2016, after the release of several successful singles including the grime song “Thiago Silva” (with AJ Tracey). That same year, Canadian rapper Drake premiered a remix of Dave’s song “Wanna Know” on the former’s OVO Sound Radio. Dave released his second EP Game Over in 2017. In 2018, his political song “Question Time”, which directed criticism towards the British government, won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. Released that same year, his single “Funky Friday” (featuring Fredo), became his first number-one song on the UK singles chart and received triple platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/30/nx-s1-5587831/dave-boy-who-played-the-harp-review

Of all the epic heroes to be namechecked in hip-hop lyrics, few are invoked more often than the shepherd David. The appeal of the Old Testament figure who conquered Jerusalem and felled Goliath could scarcely be more obvious: Rappers love warriors and kings, and he is both. He rose from the runt of the litter, faced long odds, silenced his haters and toppled a behemoth, literally becoming the stuff of legend. “If David could go against Goliath with a stone / I could go at Nas and Jigga both for the throne,” 50 Cent once rapped. David is not just an underdog for the ages — perhaps the underdog — but a symbol of faith moving the immovable object out of one’s path. And yet, there is much more to the Bethlemite’s character than giant-killing.

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

Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915^[1] – April 2, 2012)^[3][4] was an American and Mexican sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of formerly enslaved people. It was difficult for a black woman then to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she settled and worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up the former.^{[citation need}

https://www.nctm.org/president

Latrenda Knighten is President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), an international mathematics education organization with more than 25,000 members.  She has been an educator for more than 30 years and recently retired as Mathematics Curriculum Supervisor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She has been a classroom teacher, an elementary science specialist, an elementary mathematics coach, a district instructional coach, and a mathematics content trainer. 

https://www.afge.org/about-us/afge-national-leadership/national-officers-executive-bios/Everett-Kelley

Everett Kelley is the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is the largest union representing federal and D.C. government employees. He began his first term of service as national president in February 2020, was elected to another term during the 42nd National Convention in June 2022, and was reelected during the 43rd National Convention in August 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everett_Kelley_(unionist)

Everett B. Kelley is an American labor union leader and president of the American Federation of Government Employees since 2020.

Born in Goodwater, Alabama, Kelley was educated at Sylacauga High School, then joined the United States Army, serving for three years, and then for a further eight in the reserve. After leaving the Army, he studied at Central Alabama Community College, Selma University, and then at Rushing Springs School of Theology. He then became a professor at Rushing Springs, and also at the Birmingham-Easonian Baptist Bible College. He became senior pastor at the St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church in Lincoln, Alabama, serving for 31 years.^[1][2]

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (ACVB) board of directors elected Erica Qualls-Battey as its chair in 2025. Qualls-Battey is the area general manager for Marriott International – Atlanta and general manager for Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Georgia’s largest hotel.  

“Erica is extremely well respected within our industry and city, and her knowledge of our business is exceptional,” said William Pate, president and CEO, ACVB. “We are excited to have her leadership as we look to continue to expand and grow our hospitality business.”  

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

Katrina Laverne Kearse^[3] (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974),^[4][5] is an American rapper who rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy.

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/07/1168460191/trina-tiny-desk-concert

Decked out in leather, diamonds and a wavy jet-black bussdown, the vet got comfortable behind the Desk quickly, ready to give fans the best of her sprawling discography.

Chandra Jack

Assistant Professor, Biology

My broad research interests are the evolution and ecology of complex biotic interactions between individuals and their subsequent effect on fitness and population structure. It has long been accepted that ecology influences evolution but only recently has is it become recognized that evolution can influence ecological processes and change community dynamics.

https://www.africancommunityeducation.org/About-ACE/?view=team

Kaska Yawo

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER

Kaska came to the United States as a refugee from Liberia in 1998. Before his arrival, Kaska earned his Bachelor\’s degree in French and Linguistics from the University of Abidjan in Côte d′Ivoire. He has earned various certifications and taught programs in global health, immigration, and nonprofit management at universities, including UMass Medical School, Boston University, and Harvard University. He is also an accredited immigration representative by the State Department of Justice with a focus on family-based immigration.

https://www.npr.org/people/1141550443/emmanuel-akinwotu

Emmanuel Akinwotu is an international correspondent for NPR. He joined NPR in 2022 from The Guardian, where he was West Africa correspondent.

He has reported in Africa since 2016, covering a wide range of prominent and under-reported stories, from the war in Sudan that has torn through the country and sparked one of the worst humanitarian crises and an exodus of refugees to neighboring countries, to the rise of military takeovers in West and Central Africa. He has covered the growing international dominance of African music, interviewing music stars from Angelique Kidjo to Tems and Davido, as well as the rise of the drill rap scene in Ghana, partly inspired by similar movements in Chicago, New York and London. He has reported on the growing flight of young people from Nigeria in search of a better life abroad, and from coastal towns in Senegal, covering the toll that widespread migration to Europe has on families left behind. In 2020, he reported from major protests in Nigeria against police brutality that, despite being violently suppressed, were a galvanizing moment for many young people seeking change.