On Thursday, Time magazine revealed the 10th annual Time 100, its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. No one will be shocked to learn that Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Valerie Jarrett were among the African-American leaders honored from the political realm. We probably could have called Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Shonda Rhimes, Miguel, Frank Ocean, LeBron James, too.
For the first time, the issue has seven separate covers featuring different members of the Time 100. The publication chose Jennifer Lawrence, Elon Musk, Rand Paul, Malala Yousafzai, Aamir Khan, Li Na and Jay-Z to spotlight this way.
Always more interesting than the selections themselves is the content of the profiles, in which high-profile figures pay tribute to the honorees.
We love what Maya Angelou had to say about Michelle Obama:
The philosophers tell us that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mrs. Obama is as if it doesn't touch her. She hasn't tried to become anybody else's idea of the First Lady … That she would dare to wear clothes off the rack. Or go out and garden. Or have a grandmother in the White House. She knows how to be a public creature without being separate from her family.
And here's New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Jay-Z:
He's never forgotten his roots — 'Empire State of Mind' was a love song to our city — and as a co-owner of the NBA Nets, he helped bring a major league sports team back to Brooklyn, not far from his old neighborhood. In nearly everything he's tried, he's found success. (He even put a ring on Beyoncé.) And in doing so, he's proved that the American Dream is alive and well."
Hillary Clinton penned the piece on Barack Obama, with praise that would have been tough to imagine back in 2008:
When Barack Obama was first elected, the world saw the realization of the American Dream. Today, they see a leader who delivers — whether it's ending the war in Iraq, imposing crippling sanctions on Iran or reasserting our role as a Pacific power and building a world with more partners and fewer enemies.
Check out the profiles of the African-American honorees here:
Read more at Time magazine.