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Ebony Power 100: A Numbers Game?
The Ebony Power 100 gala, held November 4th at the Beverly Hilton, celebrated achievements across various fields. We're talking music, media, business, entertainment, and sports. The usual suspects were there: Robin Thede hosting, performances by Ari Lennox and Lucky Daye, and a slate of awards handed out to names like Tracee Ellis Ross, Teyana Taylor, and Shaquille O'Neal.
But let's peel back the celebratory veneer and look at the underlying data points. The event recognized leaders, sure, but what kind of leaders? The award categories themselves offer a clue. Pathbreaker, Entertainer, Entrepreneur, Icon, Humanitarian. These are broad, qualitative measures. Where's the data? Where are the quantifiable metrics of success? Are we measuring impact, or just influence?
The Bridgeman Factor
The "Junior Bridgeman Entrepreneur of the Year" award, presented to Shaq, raises a particularly interesting point. Junior Bridgeman, who acquired Ebony and Jet magazines in 2020, passed away in March 2025. This award, presumably named in his honor, highlights a key aspect of Ebony's current trajectory: its connection to business and entrepreneurship. But is this connection translating to tangible results for the publication itself?
It's worth recalling that Bridgeman's acquisition came at a turbulent time for Ebony. The magazine had faced financial difficulties and a decline in readership. Bridgeman's vision was to revitalize the brand, but details on how he planned to do that remain scarce. We know he was a successful businessman (former NBA player turned Wendy's franchise owner), but translating that success to a legacy media brand is a different ballgame. This is the part of the report that I find genuinely puzzling – the link between individual entrepreneurial success and the broader health of a publication historically vital to the Black community.
The "Girlfriends" Anomaly
The presentation of the "Pathbreaker of the Year" award to Tracee Ellis Ross also presents an interesting, if less financially weighty, data point. Her former Girlfriends co-stars, Jill Marie Jones, Persia White, and Golden Brooks, presented the award. This is a nice, feel-good moment. But it also highlights the enduring power of nostalgia and the importance of cultural touchstones. Girlfriends ended in 2008. Its continued relevance speaks volumes about the limited representation of Black women in mainstream media since then. Tracee Ellis Ross Honored at Ebony Power 100 Gala as Pathbreaker: “You Do Not Have to Push Out a Baby to Help Push Humanity Forward” - The Hollywood Reporter
Consider this: the show aired for six seasons. Six seasons to create a lasting impact. How many shows featuring predominantly Black casts have achieved that level of cultural penetration in the last 15 years? It's not a question of quality, but of opportunity and sustained investment. (I'd wager the number is far lower than we'd like to admit.)
The Echo Chamber Effect
The acceptance speeches, while undoubtedly heartfelt, also conform to a predictable pattern. Gratitude to God, family, and team. Emphasis on character, discipline, and treating people well. These are all admirable sentiments, but they lack the specificity needed to truly understand the awardees' achievements. They become data points in a broader narrative of success, but they don't tell us how that success was achieved.
The reactions are, in effect, a self-reinforcing loop. Awards are given, speeches are made, and narratives are solidified. But where's the critical analysis? Where's the questioning of the status quo? Where's the data that backs up the claims of impact?