Echoes of Excellence

If there's one thing I've heard consistently from black Americans since the election of Barack Obama, it's that he'll stand as a role model to young black men. No longer will they have to feel their only pathway to excellence is through hip-hop or athletics . But the question must be asked, haven't there been other black men who have achieved excellence in their chosen fields prior to the meteoric rise of our President-Elect ?

The answer is an emphatic yes! I say this with some passion because I have had the privilege to associate with and be mentored by many black men who have overcome the obstacles we all face and risen to the top of their game. This comes to me with remarkable clarity because last night I talked to three of them. I began my radio show talking to the iconic choreographer Garth Fagan. Here is a man who, through brilliance and perseverance has carved a legacy in his field that would be the envy of any choreographer, black or white. He's won a Tony award for his work on "The Lion King", but it's his company, Garth Fagan Dance, that truly amazes. Yet you ask black folks on the street who Garth Fagan is, all too often you get a blank stare.

Later in the evening, I spoke to Professor Ron Walters. He is without doubt one of black America's finest academic minds. He managed the Rev. Jesse Jackson's campaign for president in 1988. Countless young people have had their skills challenged and honed under his tutelage at the University of Maryland. In a just world, Ron Walters would have his own television show, not Bill O'Reilly. Yet like Garth Fagan, Ron Walters labors in relative obscurity in terms of recognition in our own community.

My final example of an excellent black man is most personal to me, since he mentored me for the entire time I've worked in radio. Hal Jackson is 90 plus years of age, has worked in radio for nearly 70 years, and is still on the air every Sunday on WBLS here in New York. Last night, after my show, I went to the Apollo Theater in Harlem to witness a celebration of his life and his work. This is a man who once told me in a fiery voice, "Mark, don't ever, EVER compromise your integrity in this business. All you've got is your good name, and don't ever let me hear about you staining it!" That was back in the mid 1970s, and his admonition has stayed with me through the years. He is, along with the others mentioned, an icon of excellence who was once told no "N word" would ever work at the radio station where he sought a job. That was in 1939. He's been confounding skeptics ever since.

All this is to say if Barack Obama's rise to the highest office in the land should teach us anything, maybe it's that we ought to recognize black excellence when it's been staring us in the face all along.