In celebration of Black History Month, Governor Roy Cooper will honor African American musicians and artists from North Carolina at a reception in the Governor’s Executive Mansion beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14.
The event is hosted by the N.C. African American Heritage Commission and the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Honorees:
Music
* Fantasia Barrino (Mecklenburg County, NC) | R & B singer and Broadway performer
* Pastor Shirley Caesar (Wake County, NC) | Renowned gospel artist
* Maestro William Henry Curry (Durham County, NC) | Conductor and arts advocate
* Carroll Dashiell (Pitt County, NC) | Jazz musician, composer, conductor and jazz educator
* Patrick “9th Wonder” Douthit (Durham County) | Rapper, producer and educator
* Roberta Flack (Buncombe County, NC) | Grammy Award-winning R & B artist
* Rhiannon Giddens (Guilford County, NC) | Grammy Award-winning vocalist and musician
* Dick Knight (Lenoir County, NC) | Musician and educator
* Bill Myers (Wilson County, NC) | Musician, bandleader and educator
* Sister Lena Mae Perry (Johnston County, NC) | Traditional gospel singer, member of the Branchettes
* Larry Reni Thomas (Orange County, NC) | Radio host, jazz writer and jazz scholar
* Joe Thompson—posthumous (Alamance County, NC) | Fiddler and old-time musician
* Mary D. Williams (Durham County, NC) | Singer, educator and scholar of Civil Rights-era songs
Visual Art
* Ernie Barnes—posthumous (born in Durham County, NC) | Acclaimed painter
* Endia Beale (Forsyth County, NC) | Award-winning photographer and Director, Diggs Gallery at WSSU
* Dare Coulter (Wake County, NC) | Muralist, sculptor and illustrator
* Dr. Linda Dallas (Wake County, NC) | Watercolor artist and food illustrator
* Olivia Gatewood (Durham County, NC) | Visual artist
* Vandorn Hinnant (Guilford County, NC) | Visual Artist, educator and poet
* Beverly McIver (Guilford County, NC) | Visual artist
* Antoine Williams (Mecklenburg County, NC) | Mixed-media artist and educator
Craft & Folk Traditions
* Jerome Bias (Alamance County, NC) | Craftsman and foodways preservationist
* Sharon Bryant (Craven County, NC) | Heritage practitioner critical to preserving ancestral African American music and dance traditions, specifically the Jonkonnu tradition
* Kisha Kinard (Pender County, NC) | Craftswoman renowned for preserving the Gullah-Geechee tradition of sweetgrass basketry
* Ben Watford (Craven County, NC) | Potter, storyteller and educator
Arts Advocacy
* Rep. Alma Adams (Mecklenburg County, NC) | Arts advocate
* Simona Atkins Allen (Forsyth County, NC) | Founder, Delta Arts Center
* Phyllis Coley (Wake County, NC) | Arts supporter
* Patrick and Dr. Judy Diamond (Mecklenburg County, NC) | Art collectors
Film & Television
* Shirlette Ammons (Durham County, NC) | Television producer, writer, musician and poet
* Natalie Bullock-Brown (Wake County, NC) | Filmmaker
* Lana Garland (Durham County, NC) | Documentarian, filmmaker and producer
* Deborah Holt-Noel (Wake County, NC) | Producer and host, UNC-TV
* Samm Art Williams (Forsyth County, NC) | Executive producer, “Martin” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”
* Kevin Wilson, Jr. (Durham County, NC) | Academy Award-nominated director, “My Nephew Emmett”
Literature
* Dasan Ahanu (Christopher Massenburg) (Durham County, NC) | Poet
* Gerald Barrax (Wake County, NC) | Poet and professor
* Jaki Shelton Green (Alamance County, NC) | Poet, writer and educator; 9th NC Poet Laureate
* Dr. Zelda Lockhart (Durham County, NC) | Writer and educator
* Lenard Moore (Onslow County, NC) | Writer, educator, poet and renowned haikuist
Dance
* Debra Austin (Forsyth County, NC) | Ballerina, Ballet Master, Carolina Ballet
* Baba Chuck Davis—posthumous (Durham County, NC) | Dancer, choreographer and dance preservationist
* Tommy DeFrantz (Durham County, NC) | Dancer, choreographer and dance scholar
* Cara Hagan Gelber (Watauga County, NC) | Choreographer and educator
* Mel Tomlinson (Mecklenburg County, NC) | Renowned dancer, choreographer and educator
* Wesley “Dr. Zulu” Williams (Guilford County, NC) | Breakdancer
Theatre
* Jackie Alexander (Forsyth County, NC) | Director and playwright, Creative Director, NC Black Repertory Company
* Howard Craft (Durham County, NC) | Award-winning playwright
* JaMeeka Holloway Burrell (Durham County, NC) | Playwright and director
* Leon Hamlin and Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin (Forsyth County, NC) | National Black Theatre Festival