Slideshow: TheGrio's top black 'Influential People' from 'Time 100'

SLIDESHOW - Among those entertainers, leaders, educators, and icons that made the list this year, several were prominent black figures in the U.S. and abroad...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

TIME magazine has released its list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” whom they say are those that “inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world.”

Among those entertainers, leaders, educators, and icons that made the list this year, several were prominent black figures in the U.S. and abroad. Singer Rihanna, Academy-award winner Viola Davis, musician Raphael Saadiq, University of Maryland educator Freeman Hrabowski, President Barack Obama, Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan, Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda, and Jamaica’s prime minister Portia Simpson Miller all made TIME list. Earning a place on their annual list is a big honor, and here at theGrio we’d like to spotlight the following people for a year full of accomplishment and success.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE