Honorees on EBONY's 2026 Power 100, revealed Oct. 5 with a Nov. 9 gala in Los Angeles.
EBONY revealed its 2026 Power 100 on Monday, Oct. 5, under the theme "The Stories We Shape," a list built around narrative ownership. The awards ceremony is set for Nov. 9 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
Two categories are worth a close read for anyone building. The Junior Bridgeman Business Vanguard honors Latriece Watkins, Byron Allen, Stacy Brown-Philpot and Tope Awotona, the founder of Calendly. Generation Next names Victor Wembanyama, Quenlin Blackwell, Nia Sioux, Jazlyn Guerra and Sean "The Science Kid" Atitogbe, young names who built their audiences directly.
The creator and tech lanes are just as telling. Influential Creators includes iShowSpeed, Marques Brownlee and Michael Seibel of Y Combinator, while STEM Trailblazers includes Morgan DeBaun of Blavity and AfroTech and Jasmine Crowe-Houston of Goodr.
"The theme is ownership. The list shows who already has it."
What stands out is the mix. Founders, scientists and creators sit in the same ranking, and several of the youngest honorees built their platforms themselves rather than waiting for a gatekeeper.
The ANF Take: For a young Detroit builder, the useful read is not the celebrity names. It is the pattern: own the audience, own the product, own the narrative. Lists like this are a map of what ownership looks like at scale, and the next class is being built in cities like this one right now.
Source: theGrio, Oct. 5, 2026. The full list is on EBONY's site.
