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.
Black Excellence: Erica Ash
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5056291/erica-ash-dead
Comedian, actor, singer and model Erica Ash has died at age 46. She was best known for MadTV, the sitcom Survivor’s Remorse, Rosie O’Donnell’s The Big Gay Sketch Show and the Kevin Hart series Real Husbands of Hollywood.
Black Excellence: Aya Nakamura
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aya_Nakamura
Aya Danioko (born 10 May 1995), known professionally as Aya Nakamura, is a French-Malian singer-songwriter.
Aya Nakamura Proves Why She’s France’s Biggest Star at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony
Her standout performance comes after months of speculation and controversy over her Olympic appearance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJkg6z7eoRs
Black Excellence: The Wiz Tiny Desk Concert
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/11/g-s1-9486/the-wiz-tiny-desk-concert
One afternoon the Tiny Desk traveled to Emerald City. Or rather, we got to meet the cast of the newest Broadway revival of The Wiz. Debuting in Baltimore, Md., in 1974, the musical unapologetically centered Black culture in its reenvisioning of The Wizard Of Oz and helped usher in a new era of Black theatrical storytelling.