young futurists 2017
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Michaela DePrince
Imagine opening your email and seeing Beyoncé’s name in your inbox. That’s what happened to ballerina Michaela DePrince last year. After laughing off the email and sending it to her publicist, the next thing she knew, she was on set in New Orleans, choreographing the music video for “Freedom” on Queen Bey’s epic opus, Lemonade.…
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Moziah Bridges
At 15, Moziah Bridges is already the best dressed in the room, brightening up an event with his colorful, handmade bow ties. Moziah, the CEO of Mo’s Bows, has been running his six-figure business with his mom and grandmother in Memphis, Tenn., since 2011. “I like to wear bow ties because they make me look…
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Nicole O’Dell
Nicole O’Dell talks as effortlessly about biotechnology as she would if she were talking about what she ate for dinner. In 2015, she won first place at the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers’ national competition. Her project analyzed the effects of low-dose radiation and whether X-rays from security scanning machines affect materials…
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Victoria Pannell
Victoria Pannell has been fighting against child sex trafficking since she was 12 years old. Then, she portrayed “Monica,” a 13-year-old who had been sold into sex slavery by her father, in a public service announcement. That was the moment she realized she needed to speak out. “I knew that when the director said, ‘That’s…
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Anicca Harriot
Anicca Harriot dabbed her way to internet stardom. But unlike other folks who often just dab to celebrate a moment, Anicca put pencil to paper and calculated the angle of her dab by hand. She posted the angle, 31.70 degrees to be exact, on Twitter, and the tweet has since gained more than 27,000 retweets…
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Toluwanimi Obiwole
Toluwanimi Obiwole lets her poetry show her strength. Toluwanimi was selected as Denver’s first youth poet laureate in 2015. “The poets teaching me how to be even braver in my writing are Warsan Shire, Nayyirah Waheed and Suzi Q. Smith,” she told The Root. “They’re all unafraid to be vulnerable in their writing, yet never…
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Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna
Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna is dedicated to making sure the world’s infrastructure is solid as a rock. Seriously. Augusta has spent the last several years researching cement and how to make it sustainable. The Harvard College freshman told The Root that her “first love” and “first passion” is cement. CATEGORY: Science and TechAGE: 18HOMETOWN: Elmont, N.Y.EDUCATION: Harvard…
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Alanna Wall
Alanna Wall is determined to add a little polish and sparkle to the lives of hospitalized children and girls with special needs. Alanna founded Polished Girlz when she was just 10 years old after being turned down for several volunteer organizations because she was too young. Inspired by her love of drawing and cool nail…
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Calling All Young Leaders: Nominate a Young Person for The Root Young Futurists 2017
If you know some young black superstars in your community, help us by nominating them for our annual The Root Young Futurists! We want to choose the best of the best for our 2017 list. Our new list will be revealed in February, and we are now accepting nominations. In order to qualify for consideration,…