Black Excellence: Jeffrey Louis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Louis
Jeffrey Louis (born December 20, 1994),[1][2] also known mononymously as Jeffro,[2] is an American breakdancer. He has been breakdancing since the age of 12.[1]
Black Excellence: Max Irving
https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/mens-water-polo/roster/max-irving/424
He is back for his second Olympic Games in 2024…A three-time All-American, he played at UCLA where he helped lead the team to the 2017 NCAA Championship…Continued on to play professionally in Greece and Italy…Went from redshirt at UCLA to National Team in just three years.
Black Excellence: Nyjah Huston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyjah_Huston
Nyjah Imani Huston (born November 30, 1994) is an American professional skateboarder. With numerous sponsorships and competition prize winnings, Huston is one of the highest paid skateboarders in the world.[4][5]
Black Excellence: Lauren Scruggs
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/8/2/lauren-scruggs-gold-medal-team-usa-foil-fencing-olympics
In the end, Lauren S. Scruggs ‘25 was never leaving Paris without gold.
Scruggs propelled Team USA to victory in the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s team foil tournament on Thursday, holding off Italy’s three-time Olympian Arianna Errigo to give the United States its first-ever team gold medal in fencing.
Black Excellence: Julien Alfred
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/03/g-s1-15238/julien-alfred-shacarri-st-lucia-paris-100m
Julien Alfred stuns Sha’Carri Richardson in 100m to win St. Lucia’s 1st Olympic gold
Black Excellence: Kyle Boatwright
https://www.umass.edu/theater/about/directory/kyle-boatwright
Kyle Boatwright (she/her) is a director, actor, musician, and educator based in the Pioneer Valley.
Kyle is the co-founder of Rise Up Productions, a Valley collective of performing artists that produces shows to support social justice organizations.
Black Excellence: Anne Harris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Harris_(musician)
Anne Harris (born February 2, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, violinist, recording artist and actress based in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2] She has independently produced and released six studio albums on her record label, Rugged Road Records: Anne Harris (2001), Open Your Doors (2003), Wine and Poetry (2005),[3] Gravity and Faith (2008), Come Hither (2015) and Roots (2019).
Black Excellence: Toumani Diabaté
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/07/29/g-s1-13359/music-toumani-diabate-mali-kora
Toumani Diabaté plucked the kora’s 21 strings. The world fell in love with his music
“He played those 21 strings with love.”
That’s the great American banjo player Bela Fleck talking about his duets with Toumani Diabaté of Mali — including the crowd-pleaser “Dueling Banjos.”
Fleck called him “one of the greatest accompanists I’ve ever played with.”
It’s one of many heartfelt tributes to Diabaté, who died of kidney failure on July. Diabaté was 58.
Black Excellence: Corey Alston
Corey Alston has been recognized at the local, state, and national levels, receiving numerous awards and proudly displaying his art across the United States. As a 5th generation Sweetgrass Weaver, Corey practices the art of Sweetgrass Basket Weaving from his home in Charleston, South Carolina.
Black Excellence: Otis Taylor
https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135358034/otis-taylor-tiny-desk-concert
I’d never think that a banjo player could find my musical sweet spot, which falls somewhere between Mali and The Velvet Underground, but Otis Taylor hits it, spot on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Taylor_(musician)
Otis Taylor (born July 30, 1948,[1] Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American blues musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. In 2001, he was awarded a fellowship to the Sundance Film Composers Laboratory.