Often times we only focus on historical figures during Black History Month i.e., Dr.King, Malcolm X, and Frederick Douglas.
History has it's place and tells us where we've been and how we got to this place in the present. Remember, the past moves us to the future. Take a look at some of the up and coming Black men who will probably become important leaders of tomorrow.
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You probably have heard of Democratic politican Cory Booker and know a little
about him. He is best known as the former mayor of Newark and as the junior senator from New Jersery.
He was elected mayor of Newark, N.J., the state’s largest enclave,
in 2006 with 72% of the vote. Booker showed his accessibility by living in
public housing and becoming a Twitter fanatic. He shoveled residents out of
their driveways and tackled muggers with the skill and grace of a former
All-American tight end. He even rescued a neighbor from her burning house.
Booker won a special election to the U.S. Senate in 2013, and was elected to a
full term in 2014. He is the first African American Senator from New Jersey.Here are a few things you might not know. Born in Washington, D.C., Cory Booker was educated at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Masters of Arts in Sociology. He earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford after graduation and returned home to complete his Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School. While at Yale, he operated a free legal clinic for low income residents of New Haven, CN.
Booker is committed to battling crime, and is also an advocate of education reform, an animal rights champion, and an environmentalist.
Van
Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is
an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney, educated at the University of Tennessee and
Yale University Law School. After making his mark
as a young human rights activist focused on police brutality, Jones became an
advocate for "green-collar jobs," which provide a living wage,
improve the environment and spur economic development.
He is a co-founder of four
non-profit organizations:
- Rebuild the Dream, a national advocacy organization working towards a fairer economy, of which he is president;
- Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization (NGO) working for alternatives to violence;
- Color of Change, an advocacy group for African Americans; and
- Green for All, a
national NGO dedicated to "building an inclusive green economy strong
enough to lift people out of poverty."
His first book, The Green Collar
Economy, was released on October 7, 2008. It won the Nautilus Book Award and
reached number 12 on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2008, Time
magazine named Jones one of its "Heroes of the Environment". Fast Company called him one of the "12 Most
Creative Minds of 2008". In 2009, Jones was listed in Time 100 Most
Influential People.
In March 2009 Jones was appointed by
President Barack Obama to the newly created position of Special Advisor for
Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on
Environmental Quality. He worked with various "agencies and
departments to advance the administration's climate and energy initiatives,
with a special focus on improving vulnerable communities."
In July 2009 he became "embroiled in a controversy" over his past political activities and was heavily criticized by conservatives. Jones resigned in early September 2009. "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in his resignation statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."
Currently, Jones is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior policy advisor at Green for All. Jones also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is cohost of CNN's Crossfire.
In July 2009 he became "embroiled in a controversy" over his past political activities and was heavily criticized by conservatives. Jones resigned in early September 2009. "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in his resignation statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."
Currently, Jones is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior policy advisor at Green for All. Jones also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is cohost of CNN's Crossfire.
Dr. Steve
Perry
Featured in CNN's Black in America series, Dr. Perry calls himself America's most trusted educator and is the most talked about innovative educator on the scene today.
Perry’s education, includes a BA in political science from the University of Rhode Island in 1992; a MSW focused on social and economic development from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work in 1995, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership from the University of Hartford in 2008.
Perry’s education, includes a BA in political science from the University of Rhode Island in 1992; a MSW focused on social and economic development from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work in 1995, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership from the University of Hartford in 2008.
Perry is the founder and principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in
Hartford, Conn., a pre-K to 12th grade program that sends nearly all of its
graduates to four-year colleges. U. S. News and World Report cited the school as one of the top schools in America. His mantra: Higher expectations for
underserved children will lead to their success.
Dr. Steve Perry is a strong advocate of
personal and civic responsibility in all aspects of life. He emphasizes the
social issues that aim at building up both the individual and the community so
that the next generation can be better contributing members of society. When
Perry speaks, he reaches the heart of his audience to motivate change in
themselves and their community. His
secrets to success and calls to action are revealed in his new book, “Push Has
Come To Shove: Getting Our Kids The Education They Deserve – Even If It Means
Picking A Fight.”
In addition to being the principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Dr. Perry, MSW is an Education Contributor for CNN and MSNBC, an Essence Magazine columnist, best-selling author, and host of the #1 docudrama for TVONE “Save My Son.”
In addition to being the principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Dr. Perry, MSW is an Education Contributor for CNN and MSNBC, an Essence Magazine columnist, best-selling author, and host of the #1 docudrama for TVONE “Save My Son.”
T.W.
Shannon
Tahrohon Wayne "T.W." Shannon is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The former speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is also a member of the Chickasaw Nation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Cameron University and a Juris Doctorate from University of Oklahoma Law School.
Tahrohon Wayne "T.W." Shannon is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The former speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is also a member of the Chickasaw Nation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Cameron University and a Juris Doctorate from University of Oklahoma Law School.
He worked as a field representative for
former Congressman J. C. Watts a decade ago and served in the same
position for Congressman Tom Cole the following two years. An enrolled member
of the Chickasaw Nation, he worked as the chief administrative officer for
Chickasaw Nation Enterprises. He also operates a home-based public
relations business.
Shannon was elected to the
Oklahoma House of Representatives from his hometown of Lawton in 2006. In a
ceremony on January 8, 2013, Shannon took the oath of office to be Oklahoma’s
first African-American Speaker of the House. GOPAC, an organization whose mission it is to support up-and-coming Republican leaders, added Shannon to its national advisory board in 2013.
Shannon advocated a controversial measure to require Oklahoma recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) to perform at least 35 hours of work activities or be denied aid. The work requirement was scaled back after the cost of providing job training to SNAP recipients became clear.
Shannon currently still serves in the Oklahoma
House of Representatives but stepped down as the Speaker of the House to run
for the Republican nomination in the special senate election to succeed U.S.
Senator Tom Coburn.
Despite
Tea Party support and endorsements that included U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and
former Governor Sarah Palin, Shannon lost the Republican nomination for the
Senate to U.S. Representative James Lankford by almost 20 points.
Even those who have little, he says, "will tell you
that dependence on government doesn't work," while "personal
responsibility" is essential.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
An American writer, journalist, and educator, Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, and blogger for that publication's website where he writes about cultural, social and political issues.
Coates has worked for The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, and Time. He has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Monthly, O, and other publications. In 2008 he published a memoir, The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood. He joined the City University of New York as its journalist-in-residence in the fall of 2014.
His writings on race, such as his September 2012 Atlantic cover piece "Fear of a Black President" (which considered
Barack Obama's multiracial heritage from multiple angles) and his June 2014 feature "The Case for Reparations," have been especially praised, and have won his blog a place on the Best Blogs of 2011 list by TIME Magazine and the 2012 Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism from The Sidney Hillman Foundation.Coates is the 2012–13 MLK visiting professor for writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a guest columnist for the New York Times, having turned down an offer from them to become a regular columnist.
"Equality that requires blacks to be twice as good," he wrote,
"is not equality — it's a double standard."
These are just a few of those in the next generation of Black Leadership. Get ready for our post on Black Women Moving Forward, Ready to Lead.
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