The Return of EBONY Power 100: Honoring the Icons, Innovators and Leaders of Today and Tomorrow

EBONY proudly announces the return of EBONY Power 100, the iconic annual celebration recognizing the individuals who are redefining what leadership, influence and excellence look like across the global Black community. Building on a legacy that spans more than eight decades, EBONY Power 100 continues to spotlight the trailblazers whose work is transforming culture, business, sports, media, politics, the arts and beyond.

Now entering a new chapter, EBONY Power 100 2026 invites the public to help identify the leaders, creators, executives, advocates and disruptors whose contributions are moving communities forward and shaping tomorrow's possibilities. Nominations are open now and will close on May 8, 2026.

"EBONY Power 100 is more than a celebration of achievement — it is a reflection of the vision, leadership and cultural impact shaping our future in real time," said Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, Chief Executive Officer of EBONY. "As we open nominations for 2026, we are proud to honor the innovators, changemakers and trailblazers whose influence is moving our communities, our culture and our legacy forward."

For generations, EBONY has chronicled the people and moments that define Black America and the broader diaspora. EBONY Power 100 continues that tradition by recognizing a dynamic cross-section of honorees whose leadership resonates across industries and generations. From established icons to emerging visionaries, this year's program will celebrate those whose work embodies innovation, purpose and cultural power.

The call for nominations is open to the public, encouraging communities, colleagues and supporters to submit the names of individuals whose influence deserves recognition on one of culture's most prestigious stages.

The Black Women's Leadership Collective Launches "One Million Black Voters Rising"

The Black Women's Leadership Collective (BWLC), together with its 12 partner organizations and BWLC's North Carolina and Virginia chapters, today announced the launch of One Million Black Voters Rising (1MBVR) www.onemillionblackvotersrising.org a bold, multi-year effort to register one million new Black voters, build collective power and long-term civic engagement. Rooted in the organizing power of Black women—our democracy's most active participants 1MBVR launches with a combined reach of more than 20 million Black women nationwide and their networks.

Using a combination of digital tools, on-the-ground organizing, and culturally competent outreach, 1MBVR invites participants to register new voters and sustain engagement through 2026, 2028, and beyond. Equipped and supported to activate their own networks—in neighborhoods, campuses, workplaces, and congregations—and to have direct, honest conversations. By focusing on person-to-person activation, 1MBVR aims to convert untapped eligibility into real outcomes: more resources for schools, deeper investment in communities, greater opportunity for families, and leadership that is accountable to Black voters.

This effort is grounded in a simple truth: Black political power has not peaked—it has been undercounted, underestimated, and undervalued. At a time of unprecedented threats to our lives, our opportunities, and our communities, anti-Blackness and racism are having a real impact on our present and our future—issues that are not always addressed in traditional voter registration efforts. This is a critical moment to demonstrate what's possible when we move together—across organizations, sectors, and states. That's why 1MBVR is designed to meet people where they are, building the movement through trust, conversation, and connection.

The One Million Black Voters Rising Movement launches with an urgent call to Join the Movement to One Million Stronger. We are rising to use our power—because we have the numbers to create real change, and because there is more to do: more to protect, more to fight for, and more to build for the next generation.

About the Black Women's Leadership Collective
The Black Women's Leadership Collective (BWLC) is an intergenerational, intersectional organizing hub of national Black women-centered organizations, leaders, and advocates from across the country. Rooted in the power of collective action, BWLC is building, growing, and activating a national network to ensure Black women's voices are heard—in the halls of power, at the ballot box, and in our communities. https://www.blackwomensleadershipcollective.org

American Council of Learned Societies Awards 2026 ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowships and Grants

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to announce the 2026 awardees of the ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowship and Grant Program, which supports exceptional research by faculty in the humanities and interpretive social sciences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Eight fellows will receive up to $50,000 each to support long-term engagement with a research project. Twelve grantees will receive up to $10,000 each to support project development and smaller scale research projects.

"This year's 20 awards support faculty at 18 different HBCUs—large and small, private and public," said Nike Nivar Ortiz, ACLS Program Officer in US Programs. "The breadth of institutions, scholarly fields, and research methods represented in this year's awardees shows the depth of the scholarship found across the HBCU system. ACLS is proud to continue our support for faculty at HBCUs, which play a pivotal role in American higher education and history."

This year's awarded projects take up local HBCU and community histories, pressing national issues, key literary figures, and complex transnational movements. Funded projects include a history of the African American Union soldiers who founded Lincoln University of Missouri; an examination of women's political participation in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1930-1965; an exploration of the moral, economic, and legal case for Black reparations; and a study of marginalized perspectives in African diasporic opera. The research spans a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including African American studies, linguistics, philosophy, religious studies, and theater and performance studies.

Learn more about the 2026 ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellows and ACLS HBCU Faculty Grantees and their projects.

Now in its third year, the program was developed in consultation with HBCU faculty and administrators to attend to the unique teaching and service commitments of faculty at HBCUs. The awards include networking and professional development opportunities, as well as an additional grant of $2,500 to the awardee's home institution to support humanities programming or infrastructure.

The ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowship and Grant Program is funded primarily by the ACLS endowment, which has benefited from the generous support of esteemed funders, institutional members, and individual donors since our founding in 1919.

Formed a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, ACLS upholds the core principle that knowledge is a public good. In supporting its member organizations, ACLS expands the forms, content, and flow of scholarly knowledge, reflecting our commitment to diversity of identity and experience. ACLS collaborates with institutions, associations, and individuals to strengthen the evolving infrastructure for scholarship.

Congressional Black Caucus Statement on Trump’s Unlawful Voter Suppression Executive Order

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement on Trump’s Unlawful Voter Suppression Executive Order:

“Right now, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are deploying every tactic imaginable to suppress the power of the people in a desperate effort to maintain control in Washington. The executive order signed by President Trump is an unlawful and unconstitutional attempt to dictate who in this country is allowed to vote.

“This sweeping order would allow the Trump Administration to unilaterally determine voter eligibility, intimidate state election officials through politically motivated investigations, and jeopardize the privacy of millions of law-abiding Americans. It would also disenfranchise Black and other minority voters, women, young people, individuals with disabilities, and older Americans.

“The order directs federal agencies to compile lists of eligible voters in each state and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to distribute mail ballots only to so-called ‘verified’ voters, which raises serious concerns about access, fairness, and federal overreach.

“Donald Trump and Republicans know their policies have failed the American people. That is why they are working to weaken the Voting Rights Act and advance voter suppression legislation like the SAVE Act in a continued effort to cling to power.

“There is no scenario in which this unlawful, anti-democratic, and authoritarian executive order will not go unchallenged to the fullest extent of the law.”

NAACP Calls for Fair Elections Practices in Response to Trump Executive Order Limiting Mail-in Voting

President Trump signed an executive order limiting mail-in ballots to an approved list of absentee voters. The Department of Homeland Security in collaboration the Social Security Administration have been tasked with creating the approved list of voters who will receive a mail-in ballot by the U.S. Postal Service. The executive order also threatens to withhold federal funding for any state who does not comply.

Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO shared the following response:

"Americans in every corner of our country, rural and urban, Black and white, rich and poor, healthy and infirm, civilian and servicemember, have participated in mail-in voting for decades without issue. Trump himself cast a mail-in ballot in Florida's most recent elections. This executive order is a sham.  Like mid-decade racial gerrymandering, the unlawful seizing of ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and the SAVE Act's modern-day poll tax requirements, this executive order is intended to sow chaos and discourage voter participation in the midterm elections. We will continue to turn to the courts to ensure that everyone can have voice in our elections."

For more information on the NAACP's work to protect voting rights, visit our website.