By Anna Ginelli In honor of Black History Month, I decided to compile a list of Black individuals who have recently influenced me and others through their talent and determination.
1. Danez Smith, poet
Danez Smith is a talented writer that I discovered this past summer. Smith writes passionately about what it means to be a Black, Queer, and HIV-positive individual in society. They have twice been a finalist in the Individual World Poetry Slam, and they have been featured on Buzzfeed and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A piece of theirs that I particularly enjoyed was “dear white america” , which widened my lens as to what it is like being a Black person today.
2. Kehinde Wiley, painter
Kehinde Wiley is an extremely talented oil painter. I first saw his work in 2018, when his portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were released. His goal is to paint Black people in a brighter light. My favorite work of his is Naomi and Her Daughters, 2013. Wiley used realism to paint the three women in the center of the photo and illuminated their features with bring colors and textures. 3. Kimberlé Crenshaw, lawyer and activist
As I was reading the book This Book is Anti-Racist, author Tiffany Jewell discusses intersectionality, or “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term back in 1989 in an academic paper. Bringing together groups of different backgrounds to further understand each other's conditions is a concept that many believe is a goal we should strive for. Politicians have used this term as well. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) tweets that “the future is female [and] intersectional” 4.Simone Manuel, Olympic swimmer
I recently saw Simone Manuel in an ad promoting her new collection with the competitive swimwear brand TYR. Curious about her athletic background, I learned that at the age of 20, she competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Not only did she compete, but she won two gold and two silver medals: gold in the 100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley, and silver in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. With her 100-meter freestyle win, Manuel became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record.
5. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist Despite his success in the world of science, the first time I had heard of Neil deGrasse Tyson was while watching The Big Bang Theory, where he starred as himself on the show. Outside of his work on the small screen, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a highly acclaimed astrophysicist. He studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003. 6.Jewel Burks Solomon, entrepreneur
I was reading an interview from Forbes magazine in which Nicaila Matthews Okome discusses her podcast, Side Hustle Pro. In her podcast, Okome gives Black female entrepreneurs a platform to share their stories. One entrepreneur that particularly stood out to me was Jewel Burks Solomon, the Head of Google Startups in the US. She works hard to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders and communities by connecting them with the best of Google’s products, people, and platforms. She currently also serves as Managing Partner at Collab Capital, an alternative investment fund she launched to close the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs.
7. Koryn Hawthorne, gospel singer
I first heard Koryn Hawthorne in a playlist Spotify had curated for me. I was struck by her powerful yet ethereal voice. Curious to understand more about her artist backstory, I learned that Hawthorne was a finalist in season 8 of NBC's singing competition, The Voice, at the age of 17. Her debut album, Unstoppable, was released on July 13, 2018, and earned her multiple awards nominations, including two Grammy nominations. The album also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Album.
