Every February, we dust off the history books for Black history Month and talk about the heroes who define black history in America — from Harriet Tubman to Rosa Parks to Martin Luther King, Jr. They are obviously a huge part of our past and are daily inspirations.
But at theGrio.com, we also wanted to talk about the future of black history. We wanted to endeavor to predict who would make up the next generation of history makers. So we came up with TheGrio’s 100.
WE INVITE YOU TO VIEW THE FULL 100 HERE
WATCH NBC NEW’S MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO DISCUSS THEGRIO’S 100 RHYMEFEST ON MSNBC
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WATCH THEGRIO’S GOLDIE TAYLOR DISCUSS THEGRIO’S 100 ON MSNBC
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What is theGrio’s 100? What does it take to get on this list?
– TheGrio’s 100 are 100 people – 10 people in 10 fields of expertise: Business, Health, Education, Science & the Environment, Media, Pop Culture, Arts & Culture, Service & Activism, Politics and Sports.
– To make TheGrio’s 100, the body of your work cannot yet be complete. Folks who have already seen the height of their careers are not on this list. This list is for folks who still have work to do.
WATCH THEGRIO’S DAVID WILSON ON THE TODAY SHOW HERE
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– We also looked at scale. It’s one thing to influence a small community or a certain group of people – but we specifically targeted history makers who have the potential to make changes and who offer inspiration to not just one neighborhood, not just one group of people – but to all of America.
WATCH SOME OF THEGRIO’S 100 DISCUSS WHAT INSPIRES THEM
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Who decided who made the final list?
-The team at theGrio fielded hundreds of suggestions from around the country. We polled our colleagues coast to coast who tell the stories of people who make a difference every day. We asked our contributors and experts in their respective fields. We even polled some of last year’s 100 for suggestions on this year’s list.
-Our team worked hard to make sure we had a lot of diversity on this list. Young and old, from coast to coast, we wanted to present a really interesting range of history makers.
-The original list of suggestions was nearly 600 names long.
This is the 2nd annual list for theGrio’s 100. How is this year’s list different?
-The entire list is 100 percent new. No one is a repeat.
-This year’s list involves more local leaders than last. We still have a lot of big, nationally known names — but more of these folks will be local heroes who are making a big difference in their communities — below the national radar. Nearly half of the suggestions came from folks at our NBC affiliates across the country.
-This year, you’ll learn even more about the 100 themselves on theGrio.com — and on all of NBC’s platforms. We will be telling their stories on Nightly, Today, MSNBC and msnbc.com — and on our affiliates — from Chicago to Cleveland to Atlanta to San Diego.
-We have more participation from the 100 themselves, as well, this year. We asked them all to respond to a series of questions. You can go to theGrio.com/Black-History to learn what inspires the members of the 100 — and to hear what black history means to them — in their own words.
**CHECK”>WE INVITE YOU TO VIEW THE FULL 100 HERE OUT MICHELLE OBAMA ON THE TODAY SHOW HERE**
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CHECK OUT LA’SHANDA HOLMES ON MSNBC HERE
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