Tag: Black Excellence

https://www.patchworkcityfarms.com

Jamila Norman, a.k.a (Farmer J) is a first generation daughter to Caribbean parents whose history is rooted in agriculture. She is an internationally recognized urban farmer, food activist and mother based in Atlanta, GA. She is a University of Georgia graduate with a degree in Environmental Engineering. After 10 years in her professional career, Jamila has now committed fully to operating her independent, organic urban farm, Patchwork City Farms, which she founded 2010.

Dacia Petrie, the Jamaican whose app is connecting people to over 3,000 Black-owned businesses

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

Lydia Frances Polgreen (born 1975) is an American journalist. She was editorial director of NYT Global at The New York Times, and the West Africa bureau chief for the same publication, based in Dakar, Senegal, from 2005 to 2009. She also reported from India.^[1][2] She spent much of her early career in Johannesburg, South Africa where she was The New York Times South African Bureau Chief as well. She was editor-in-chief of HuffPost from 2016 to 2020,^[3] after which she spent about one year between 2021 and 2022 as the head of content for Gimlet Media.^[4] In 2022, after leaving Gimlet, she returned to The New York Times as an opinion columnist.^[5]

Ryan P. Haygood, Esq.

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/1240892110/acadiana-music-showcase-major-handy

Louisiana’s Cajun Country is one of the most unique areas of the United States. It’s officially called Acadiana, after the French-speaking Acadians — or Cajuns — who settled there after being exiled from Canada by the British in the 18th century.

Our monthly series, Acadiana Music Showcase, is produced by our friends at Lafayette, La., affiliate station KRVS, and it explores this vibrant cultural melting pot through music.

Today, on a new installment of the Acadiana Music Showcase, you’ll hear a performance from a fixture in the Louisiana blues and zydeco scene: Major Handy.

http://archive.musicmaker.org/artists/major-handy/

Major Handy is a Zydeco musician and blues accordion player who was born in 1947 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Surrounded by Creole music while growing up, he has since fine-tuned his skills on the guitar, bass, piano and accordion, along with becoming a vocalist. His past gigs include playing guitar with Rockin’ Dopsie’s band for 12 years and with Buckwheat Zydeco’s original lineup for about a year. Over the years, he has held various jobs including acting as deputy sheriff in the late 1970s, holding a regular gig in Canada that include doing a cooking show before his set and running his own auto business.

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

Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979)^[1] is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals and is known for his high tenor voice. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He was also featured in Schmigadoon! (2023).

Interview with Sudan’s first professional woman guitarist: ‘the Ministry of Culture neglects Sudanese art’

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/23/nx-s1-5336793/mental-health-harlem-black-church-pastor

It was his own mental health crisis that helped Michael A. Walrond, Jr. to understand and embrace mental health care. “Out of nowhere, I had a suicidal ideation,” Walrond recalls. He was in his late 30s at the time, already busy building a life and expanding his congregation at First Corinthian Baptist in Harlem, New York.

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

Natasha Rothwell (born October 18, 1980)^[1][2] is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her work on the HBO series Insecure as Kelli Prenny, and The White Lotus as Belinda, for which she earned a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In September 2024, Hulu released How to Die Alone, a comedy series starring and co-created by Rothwell.

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

Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993)^[1] was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965.