(The Root) — The Root's editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., is among the notables named to Ebony's 2013 Power 100, just released on Thursday. The annual listing is a who's who of the most influential African Americans and tastemakers across the globe.
"There is nothing even remotely equivalent to the pleasure of being honored by one's own people, and Ebony magazine is the proverbial capstone of black journalism," said Gates, who, in addition to his role at The Root, is the founding director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
While the list includes the usual black-community heavyweights — Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson and Serena Williams — there's also a diverse cross-section of African Americans who are on the cusp of becoming household names. Remember you read these names here first: actress Condola Rashad, tennis pro Sloane Stephens and Atima Omara, president of the Young Democrats of America.
“Mr. Johnson has been my hero since I was a teenager. I first was introduced to black history in the pages of Ebony magazine, through the columns of the great historian Lerone Bennett Jr.," Gates said. “To be included with so many of the people I most admire in the African-American community is one of the signal honors of my life."
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