Tag: Black Excellence

These Fathers Formed “Dads on Duty” to Prevent Violence at a Local High School

On Thursday, September 16, 2021, just weeks into the school year, two groups of boys brawled across the courtyard at Southwood High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. The following day, two groups of girls picked up where the boys had left off. In a mere two days, 23 students were in police custody. One student was charged with battery for allegedly hitting an assistant principal. Another was charged with threatening a resource officer and a staff member.

When a school administrator told her former classmate Craig Lee, a business owner and community activist, that gang tensions were rising, Lee wanted to do something. He contacted Michael La’Fitte, a fellow activist, who had an 11th-grade daughter at Southwood. That Sunday, the two held an emergency meeting with parents and the principal. By the end of the four-hour session, a group of the fathers in attendance had decided it was time to make their presence known on campus.

“We’re dads,” La’Fitte told CBS News. “The best people to take care of our kids are who? Us.”

https://brandeeyounger.com

Among the most celebrated jazz artists to emerge in the 21st century, Brandee Younger is a harpist, composer and bandleader whose music connects spiritual jazz and classical training to the rhythmic soulfulness of R&B and hip-hop. She grew up on Long Island, where she sang gospel, studied the harp classically and became enamored of both hip-hop and the vintage soul that rap producers sampled. When Younger was a teenager, her father introduced her to Alice Coltrane’s music — a transformative moment that all but defined her life’s journey.

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/25/nx-s1-5309670/make-it-ours-virgil-abloh-robin-givan-louis-vuitton

From streetwear to luxury fashion: How Virgil Abloh reshaped an industry

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

Virgil Abloh (/ˈæbloʊ/; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transformed into the Milan based fashion label Off-White in 2013. Abloh was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton‘s menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021.^[1] Abloh worked in Chicago street fashion, before he entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of creative director at Donda, West’s creative agency in 2010.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masego_(musician)

Micah Davis (born June 8, 1993), known professionally as Masego (/məˈseɪɡoʊ/ mə-SAY-goh), is a Jamaican-American musician and singer, known for incorporating the saxophone into his music. Masego released two EPs in 2016, The Pink Polo EP with Medasin, and Loose Thoughts. He gained widespread attention with his collaborative record with FKJ called “Tadow” released in 2017. In 2018, he released his debut album Lady Lady.^[1] His album Studying Abroad: Extended Stay was nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards in the “Best Progressive R&B Album” category.

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

Alexandra Isley (born April 16, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. She released her debut EP The Love/Art Memoirs in 2012. Isley has worked with artists including Scarface, Terrace Martin, Masego, 9th Wonder, Rapsody, Tank and the Bangas, and Lucky Daye. Isley has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/23/g-s1-70058/alex-isley-tiny-desk-concert

Five years ago, Alex Isley gave us a Tiny Desk (home) concert to remember … and ever since, I’ve wanted to bring her into the office for a proper shoot. To preserve everything in her vocal cords, the LA native remained silent until it was time to perform, even pensive as she approached the Desk. Still, her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm for the moment that she and her fans had anticipated for years.

https://www.steverayladson.net/bio

Steve Ray is an artist, actor, vocalist, music producer, songwriter, arranger, and musician. His musical talents include banjo, Dobro, piano, Hammond organ, lead guitar, bass guitar, accordion, spoons, and the harmonica. He has written, produced, and is currently traveling the world with 6-time Grammy Award winners and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, “The Blind Boys of Alabama.” He also sings and plays with 4-time Grammy nominee Robert Randolph and the Family Band.​​

https://www.npr.org/people/302983377/bobby-carter

Bobby Carter is the host and series producer for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

In 2014, Carter produced his first Tiny Desk concert. Since then, his work has been at the intersection of music, technology, and engagement. He turned a modest Tiny Desk celebration of Black History Month in 2021 into a cross-cultural event combining music, film, photojournalism, and commentary. Carter leveraged this template to pull new teams together to bring a multi-dimensional, multi-continent, multi-platform celebration of Black Music Month, LatinX Heritage Month, Asian American/Pacific Islander Month and Indigenous People Month.

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

Titus Kaphar is an American contemporary painter and filmmaker whose work reconfigures and regenerates art history to include African-American subjects. His paintings are held in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, New Britain Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and University of Michigan Museum of Art.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2025/06/19/nx-s1-5439338/a-former-plantation-becomes-a-space-for-healing-art-and-reparative-history

NPR’s Picture Show spoke with Tyler Jones who is part of a narrative studio based in Birmingham called 1504. They have been collaborating with the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation to recenter the stories of Black descendant communities through creative, embodied storytelling.