Black Excellence: Biscuits & Banjos
Dedicated to Black music reclamation and exploration, Biscuits & Banjos is a new music festival curated by Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens. The festival took place this past weekend in Durham, N.C., and featured artists like Taj Mahal, Infinity Song, Rissi Palmer and a Carolina Chocolate Drops reunion. It also incorporated Durham’s Black history with a walking tour of Black Wall Street, panel discussions, square and line dancing, and a juke joint-themed party with drag performances.
Black Excellence: Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr.
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/herbert-charles-smitherman-sr-1937-2010
Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr. was a chemist and the first African American to be employed at Proctor & Gamble as a doctorate-level employee. He helped improve formulas for products such as Crest toothpaste, Bounce fabric softeners, Folgers’ coffee, and Safeguard soap.
Black Excellence: Bennie Fleming
For our “Hidden Histories” series as Women’s History Month draws to a close, Rhode Island PBS Weekly’s Michelle San Miguel introduces us to Bennie Fleming, a 100-year-old woman who embodies what it means to live a life of service — even when that service wasn’t always welcome.
Black Excellence: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Purpose, a new play now on Broadway, has all the trappings of the classic family drama: A powerful and aging patriarch, wayward sons, a strategizing wife and a watchful outsider. It could be about monarchs.
Instead, the latest work from Tony-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins trains its lens on a family with deep roots in the American civil rights movement grappling with the impact of that very history on them and on society at large.
Black Excellence: Franchesca Leigh Ramsey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franchesca_Ramsey
Franchesca Leigh Ramsey (born November 29, 1983), also known as Chescaleigh, is an American comedian, activist, television and YouTube personality, and actress, who has appeared on MTV and MSNBC.[1][2][3][4][5] She gained media fame quickly after her YouTube commentary on racial issues went viral, and she built a career as a writer, producer, and performer based on her unintended activism, being thrust into a role as an advisor or coach on social issues.[6][7]
Black Excellence: Todd Boyd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Boyd
Todd Boyd, aka “Notorious Ph.D.“,[1] is the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race & Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the USC School of Cinematic Arts.[2] Boyd is a media commentator, author, producer, consultant and scholar. He is considered an expert on American popular culture and is known for his pioneering work on cinema, media, hip hop culture, fashion, art and sports.[3] Boyd received his PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa in 1991 and began his professorial career at USC in the fall of 1992.
Black Excellence: Ruby Maddox
Ruby Maddox passed away on April 17, 2025.
https://www.leadersofthefreeworld.org/about-the-directors.html
Ruby Maddox has spent more than 15 years in the field of higher education and experiential learning. Her most recent position was as the study abroad advisor and internship coordinator, for the McCulloch Center Global initiatives; a 2015 Paul Simon Awardee for excellence in international education. Ruby received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, majoring in Public Policy and Urban Communities, and her M.S. from Bay Path University in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy. Ruby is the co-founder of Gardening the Community, a Black-led food security and environmental justice organization in Springfield, MA and owner of Direct Your Purpose, a practice that helps individuals and organizations move from aspiration to action toward their goals.
Black Excellence: Ebenezer Odeniyi
Born and raised in England with Nigerian roots, I’ve been passionate about cooking since the age of 12. In March 2019, my journey took a transformative turn when I became vegan after losing my aunt to cancer. Having also lost both of my parents to the disease, I’ve committed to living a healthier, plant- based lifestyle—and inspiring others to do the same.
On my platform, I share a mix of everyday recipes and vibrant dishes inspired by flavours from around the world, including my Nigerian heritage and Caribbean influences. My goal is to show that cooking can be fun, flavourful, and accessible for everyone.