“The Grio’s 100″ is a comprehensive list of black influencers from ten fields: sports, education, business, science and the environment, media, service an activism, politics, health, pop culture, and the arts. The list is driven by the need to highlight the next generation of history-makers. We’d expect to see Oprah Winfrey listed as a leader in business and Lebron James at the top of the sports field, but are you familiar with Derek Pitts? As Chief Astronomer at The Franklin Institute he has the potential to make a major difference in the Science and Technology realm (he already made a difference in my life – I met him on a field trip when I was a kid so the idea of a black astronomer was never strange to me). Another personal idol of mine on the list is poet and publisher Jessica Care Moore, who inspired me to prioritize writing after I met her at a reading during my spoken word days. Also included on the list of 100 are artist Kara Walker, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and journalist Maria Schiavocampo. The ultimate value of “The Grio’s 100″ is that we should really know who these big-time black people are, not just to be proud but to be aware. Before you check out the list watch this clip of the site’s editor explaining the project, along with Nancy Giles (who is one of my personal role models).

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