Upon the announcement of The Root 100 celebration of 2024, it’s important we acknowledge some of our previous honorees and answer your looming question: “Where are they now?”
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We must note the list of 100 Black honorees have careers ranging from community activists to political figures to music artists and more. Every year, some honorees maintain their position on the list while others are swapped out with figures who took the spotlight for a certain achievement, initiative or overall career move.
Over the course of 2024, politicians like Vice President Kamala Harris or music artists like Shaboozey blew us away with how they leveled up. Each of the honorees caught our attention for their own unique yet pivotal reasons. Who else has been thriving over 2024? Check out some of our Root 100 honorees and where they are now, since our last celebration.
Check out if your faves made our Final 2024 Root 100 List Here:
Brandon Scott
Scott scored a victory in the 2024 election being voted into his second term as mayor of the city of Baltimore, Md: the first Baltimore mayor to win reelection since 2004. However, his speech the following day was less of a victory lap but more of a message mourning the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris and the efforts Black women took to send her to the White House. His words were both affirming and comforting to the Black community beyond his city.
“This morning, I woke up and I just gave my wife a hug because I know how heavy this is weighing on Black women. And they have carried this country and saved this country too many times and continue to be the most disrespected human beings on the planet. And it, quite frankly, it disgusts me,” he said. “I’m thinking about the world that we’re going to bring our daughter into in a few months,” Scott said. “And I want the vice president to know that her and her team did everything right in the right way. But the unfortunate reality is that this country is still steeped in racism, sexism and misogyny.”
Denzel Washington
Could you believe the acting legend is considering retirement?! Washington, having finished his role in “Gladiator II” and teasing a potential role in the next “Black Panther” film and “Othello,” said he’s ready to retire after the next batch of films to do things he hasn’t gotten a chance to do, per The New York Post. Washington has been in the acting game since 1977. Though it would be heartbreaking to accept his departure from Hollywood, he’ll always be the most handsome, talented face on the screen.
Jasmine Crockett
Crockett managed to be reelected to her position as U.S. Representative of Texas District 30. Ever since her “bleach blonde bad built butch body” jab at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral, Crockett was named national co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign and was asked to speak at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Shaboozey
The breakout country artist’s latest W was having his hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” named the longest-running No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100. He’s also been chosen to headline the Detroit Lions 85th annual Thanksgiving Day halftime show and was nominated for six Grammy Awards including for best new artist and his feature on Beyoncé’s “Spaghettii” from album “Cowboy Carter.” It’s been win after win for the country artist in 2024.
Kamala Harris
One of the BIGGEST W’s of the batch goes to Madame Vice President. Since we last honored her achievements, Harris has upgraded to being a presidential candidate following President Joe Biden’s decision to not run again. Her campaign has raised $97 million in the first half of October not to mention the $1.2 billion the Harris Victory Fund also raised on her behalf, according to Forbes.
Jon Batiste
The dazzling musician and composer just recently performed a tribute to the Negro Leagues for the MLB at Rickwood Field event over the summer. Following that, he released a solo piano album called “Beethoven Blues” blending the sounds of gospel, soul and classical music. He was also pulled to compose a score for the film “Saturday Night” which granted him free range to build a “melting pot of sounds” with a wide range of cultural influence and instruments, he told WashPo. In short, he’s still his amazing, musically talented self.
Leslie Odom Jr.
The former Hamilton performer and Tony Award winner is fresh off the baseball field after singing the Star-Spangled Banner for the World Series Game 3. The singer-actor previously made an appearance in Broadway’s “Purlie Victorious,” held several performances around the country including one with an orchestra and he’s also gearing up to go on a Christmas tour following the release of his holiday album. Y’all better update your Christmas playlists!
Megan Thee Stallion
What hasn’t this woman done? Besides stunning her fans with new, fresh fashion looks, she’s been blessing the Hotties with new music including latest single “Bigger in Texas” ahead of her new album “Megan: Act II.” Thee Stallion also has a documentary debuting on Amazon Prime Video giving an inside look to her life in stardom. She was also recently honored for her philanthropy at the God’s Love We Deliver Gala.
Fani Willis
The Fulton County District Attorney is still gunning to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for interfering in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Her most recent move was to keep six counts of “solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer” from being dismissed from the indictment, per MSNBC. On the other hand, she’s facing a Republican challenger, Courtney Kramer in her bid for reelection as DA. In her words, Kramer is “going to lose badly,” per The AP.
Hakeem Jeffries
Jeffries only planned to excel in the area of finding progressive ways to help the people after spearheading the initiative to provide stimulus checks to U.S. citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s eyeing the opportunity to be the new (and first Black) speaker of the House of Representatives hopefully, under the Harris administration. Though, he’s poised himself to handle another Trump administration too.
Kendrick Lamar
After bringing together the entire southside of California, gang members and all, to celebrate his obvious win in the rap beef against rapper Drake, this man went on to be selected to perform the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. Will he include his famous selection “Not Like Us?” We don’t know. Would the crowd sing along to calling Drake out his name? Absolutely.
Simone Biles
Biles truly lived up to her G.O.A.T. title at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking home three gold medals and one silver medal in her performance in the women’s gymnastics events. Netflix also released part two of her documentary, “Simone Biles Rising,” which gives the audience a deeper look into her time at the previous Tokyo Olympic Games, her relationship to hubby Jonathan Owens and more. Despite the challenges, she truly continues to rise above them.
Aswad Thomas
Thomas has decided to embark on a new initiative to bring healing to the community in the DMV who were affected by crime and gun violence. Thomas tells FOX 5’s On The Hill he plans on opening a Trauma Recovery Center in multiple locations across the region to offer resources to crime victims and advocate for public safety. He was also honored by the Department of Justice’s Officer for Victims of Crime with the 2024 Survivor Voices Award.
Nataki Garrett
The co-artistic leader of One Nation, One Project was recently named chair of the Theatre Communications Group’s board, according to Playbill. The non-profit networks with over 500 theaters and 250 university affiliates to offer programs and services to students interested in the arts. Garrett was also honored with the 2024 Doris Duke Artist Award which acknowledged her established record of achievement within the area of theater and granted her a monetary reward to support her and her endeavors, per the Doris Duke Foundation.
Daymond John
The Shark Tank investor decided upon his fifth annual Black Entrepreneurs Day celebration that he would work to make $100,000 in grants available to Black entrepreneurs, per Inc. In partnership with the NAACP and various celebrities, this dream may just come true. Event organizers said by this year’s celebration, John could see the dispersal of more than $1 million in grants since the event was founded back in 2020.
Telfar Clemens
The fashion bag designer recently announced the launch of several different initiatives for the Telfar brand, including the exclusive release of real-leather bags, curating designs for Liberia’s Olympic uniforms and crafting an “EID Drop” allowing proceedings from bag restocks to go to Palestinian aid. As much as people tried to downplay his work, Telfar stays in demand.
Michael D. Tubbs
The former Stockton mayor (and the youngest to be so) has not let being voted out of office stop his momentum. Instead, he’s shooting for a hire seat having announced his bid for 2026 California lieutenant governor, per the Desert Sun. He’s made quite the reputation for himself considering his work with Gov. Gavin Newsom as special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity as well as the experimental Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) program. He launched that in 2019 which showed a significant impact on employment.
Timnit Gebru
The computer scientist and ethical AI activist was honored with the 2024 San Francisco Business Times’ Inspire Award. She was also brought to the Info-Tech LIVE 2024 conference as a keynote speaker to share more of her research into the negative impacts of AI and large language models. AI may not be going anywhere but neither is Gebru.
Mike Gauyo
The “Insecure” writer is not only still bubbling with TV show pitches but also created a new initiative through his organization, Black Boy Writes Media, to create a mentorship program for young Black writers, per Deadline. He pulled the writers of other popular shows including “Legacies” and “Power Book II: Ghost” to join him in amplify the voices of aspiring writers.
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