The People Who Paved the Way

Trailblazers

Pioneers, barrier-breakers, and history-makers who changed what's possible.

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David Steward

David L. Steward founded World Wide Technology in 1990 and built it into the largest Black-owned business in America, with annual revenues exceeding $17 billion. WWT is a technology solutions provider that serves some of the world’s largest corporations and government agencies, partnering with companies like Cisco, Dell, and Microsoft to design and implement complex […]

Daymond John

Business & Entrepreneurship

Daymond Garfield John turned $40 worth of fabric into a billion-dollar brand. FUBU — For Us, By Us — began in 1992 in John’s mother’s house in Hollis, Queens, where he sewed hats and T-shirts and sold them on street corners. Within a decade, FUBU had generated over $6 billion in global retail sales and […]

Don Cornelius

Business & Entrepreneurship

Donald Cortez Cornelius created Soul Train — the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated program in television history, airing from 1971 to 2006. For 35 years, Soul Train was the heartbeat of Black popular culture, showcasing every major Black musical artist from James Brown to Beyoncé and broadcasting Black joy, fashion, dance, and style into living rooms […]

Don Peebles

Business & Entrepreneurship

R. Donahue “Don” Peebles is one of the most successful real estate developers in America and the founder of the Peebles Corporation, one of the largest Black-owned real estate development companies in the country. His portfolio includes luxury residential towers, hotels, and mixed-use developments in New York, Miami, Washington, D.C., and other major cities, with […]

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Trailblazers

David Steward

Daymond John

Don Cornelius

Don Peebles

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