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As we do each February, QCity Metro is celebrating Black History Month by acknowledging 28 Charlotte residents who have made our city a better place to live, work and play.
This year’s edition of The Great 28 includes entrepreneurs, business executives, volunteers, community leaders and more. One honoree this year is being recognized posthumously.
In a city brimming with so much Black excellence, narrowing our list to just 28 people is no easy task.
We start by asking our readers to nominate individuals they deem worthy of recognition. From there, a team made up of QCity Metro staff, readers and volunteers makes final selections. Honorees who made our lists in 2021, 2022 and 2023 were ineligible for further recognition.
Our process is subjective, to be sure, and we acknowledge countless others who are deserving of our recognition.
Dawn Anthony
Musician, Artist, Educator
For more than 20 years, Dawn Anthony has used her talents to create inclusive environments in Charlotte. She has worked with organizations including QC Family Tree, Myers Park Baptist Church, Blumenthal Arts, Jazz Arts Charlotte, Epoch Tribe and SheReigns Ministries. Her organization, DNAMuzic, works with secondary schools in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties to emphasize the importance of history, literacy and music appreciation. Her 2018 book, “The Gift Way Up in the Closet,” was written to inspire children to discover and use the gifts and talents they’ve been given.
“I am encouraged by what these past years have taught me, and I am excited to share that in 2024.”
Rubie Britt Height
Director of Community Relations, Mint Museum
Rubie Britt-Height believes that engaging in the arts can be a catalyst for positive change. In her role at the Mint, she uses arts programming to open dialogue about social issues, the contributions of diverse peoples, youth self-respect and confidence, and more. For 15-plus years, she has led the Mint Museum’s Grier Heights Youth Arts Program, which provides arts education, museum and field trips, mindfulness and meditation, among other things, to students in grades 4-12.
“I use art as a springboard for conversation. Even if the subject is challenging, art helps us express what it is we see and how it makes us feel.“
Tiawana Brown
Founder, Beauty After the Bars
Tiawana Brown works tirelessly on behalf of incarcerated women. She is said to be the first formerly incarcerated person to serve on the Charlotte City Council, elected in 2023 to represent District 3 in west Charlotte. Her vision, she says, is “to support women from the inside out.” Brown has partnered with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to provide programs inside county detention facilities, and her nonprofit provides housing and other support services for women post-incarceration, as well as for women facing domestic violence and substance abuse.
“I press through and continue to do this work for all of the women who are still under the restraints of our criminal justice system.“
Ryan Burkett and Alex Moore
Co-Founders, Stratagon
Ryan Burkett and Alex Moore met in graduate school, became good friends and later teamed up to launch Stratagon, a tech-based marketing agency. The third-generation entrepreneurs say diversity and philanthropy are integral to their mission. Their company has worked with companies and organizations statewide, including North Carolina Central University, the city of Charlotte, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and Guilford County Economic Development. Burkett and Moore recently launched an internship program called StratU, which emphasizes DEI and is focused on developing college students and young professionals.
“Integral to our mission is the continuous evolution of our 1/1/1 program. By committing 1% of our time, revenue, and services, we aim to cultivate a culture of philanthropy within our team and significantly contribute to the community.“
Manuel Campbell
Founder & CEO, Aspire Community Captial
Manuel Campbell is in the business of growing small businesses. He launched Aspire Community Capital in 2016 and began offering services in 2019. Since then, the nonprofit organization has provided coaching and support services to more than 600 Charlotte-area businesses, with 115 completing his Community Business Academy. In 2023, Aspire began making $2,500 to $50,000 micro-loans, a service Campbell is looking to expand in 2024. Aspire has collaborated with LISC Charlotte, Charlotte is Creative and the city of Charlotte. It provided support services for Beyond Open, a grant program administered by Foundation for the Carolinas and funded by Wells Fargo.
“As a Charlotte native, I have a distinct understanding of the issues facing our community. This understanding and my personal and professional experiences allow me to bring individuals and groups together that positively impact Charlotte’s social fabric and small business ecosystem.”
Courtnie Coble
Founder & CEO, The Academy of Goal Achievers
When mentoring the next generation of young Black leaders, Courtnie Coble believes in taking a “multi-generational” approach; her nonprofit has an 85 percent rate of parent participation. Since its inception in 2016, the Academy of Goal Achievers has seen 94 percent of its mentees (about 56 students) go on to attend college or vocational school. Coble credits her whole-family approach. Even after high school, the mentoring continues, with a “transitional program” that focuses on college graduation and career development.
“I created something that I didn’t have growing up, especially with college and life-after-high-school preparation, and that continues to inspire and motivate me every day.”
Ashley Cumberbatch
North Carolina Branch Banking Market Leader, U.S. Bank
In a town where banking still rules, Ashley Cumberbatch is on the front lines of expansion for U.S. Bank, overseeing the bank’s growing network of consumer branches in Charlotte. In 2023, that network doubled to six locations. Locally, her team helps administer the bank’s Business Diversity Lending program, which offers special financing opportunities to firms owned by minorities, women and veterans. Cumberbatch, who grew up in Charlotte, serves on the board of directors at Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region and previously served on the Alexander Children’s Foundation Board of Trustees.
“Our purpose is to invest our hearts and minds to power human potential. One of the ways we deliver on our purpose is through financial education, not just with our customers, but through local organizations.“
Jeanette Davis Price
Community leader
After 34 years working as a licensed practical nurse, Jeanette Davis Price has turned her energies to volunteer efforts. At West Charlotte High School (her alma mater), she has been a mentor, exam proctor, hall monitor and greeter. She currently serves as the school’s alumni volunteer coordinator. Her volunteer work also includes the Society of St. Andrew, a national organization where volunteers glean farm fields and deliver fresh produce to people in need. In Charlotte, the organization serves senior citizens, mainly in the Grier Heights community.
“When you share love and concern, students tend to accept and strive to do their best to achieve more.“
Bobby Drakeford
Development Director, The Drakeford Company
Motivated by a desire to create affordable housing that allows African Americans to create wealth, Bobby Drakeford started his real estate development company in 2002. He soon turned his focus to developing residential communities in neighborhoods including Plaza-Midwood and Wesley Heights. The Drakeford Company has since completed more than a dozen projects in Charlotte’s urban core. Among Drakeford’s newest projects are a seven-acre mixed-use development in Charlotte’s Greenville neighborhood and a townhome community in Historic West End. He will soon start a 100-unit townhome development on W.T. Harris Boulevard in the University area.
“I’m especially proud that we’ve started the first part of a 200-unit townhome development in West Charlotte beside Harding High School.“
Monifa Drayton
Chair, Mecklenburg County ABC Board
Since 2018, Monifa Drayton has served as a director on the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. In February 2023, she was appointed to serve as board chair, the first African American woman to hold that position. Drayton says her focus has been on corporate culture and customer service. She also helps direct the organization’s social impact and community investments. Under Drayton’s leadership, the ABC Board has launched a task force to ensure that its 300-plus employees are representative of the county’s demographics, with a special focus on hiring more Latino employees. Drayton also serves as the Social Action chair for the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., which has a membership of more than 1,000 women.
“I am inspired daily by the entire Meck ABC team, which is committed to protecting the community through grantmaking, education and policy.”
Christine Edwards
Founder & Principal Consultant, Civility Localized
Ensuring that diverse perspectives shape public projects is Edwards’ passion. In recent years, her consulting firm has facilitated engagement and helped amplify community voices around significant issues such as the allocation of Mecklenburg County’s budget, the Charlotte Arts + Culture Plan, and the search for a new CMS Superintendent. Edwards also supports small business owners — coaching women and entrepreneurs of color on how to procure government contracts.
“Helping communities claim their power and make their voices heard loud and clear — that’s what inspires me every single day.“
LaToya Faustin
Executive Director, She Built this City
Under the leadership of LaToya Faustin, She Built This City has trained more than 100 women in the building trades. The organization also works with Mecklenburg youth, exposing them to career pathways that don’t require a college education. In 2023, She Built This City launched a home-repair program for seniors. Faustin’s vision for 2024: to launch hubs in northern Mecklenburg and the Sugar Creek corridor.
“I’m inspired by making changes to systems, structures and ways of thinking that have hindered women and people of color from thriving in the communities that were built by the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors.”
Davita & Dion Galloway
Co-founders & owners, DUPP & SWAT
For more than a decade, Dupp & Swat has helped define and grow the creative scene in Charlotte. Siblings Dion (Dupp) and Davita (Swat) Galloway have created a safe space for artists that takes its cues from the community, for the community. The Black-owned studio at Camp North End provides opportunities, resources and platforms for creatives of color. They have hosted hundreds of poetry events, artist showcases, book launches and popups for vendors in need of space. In 2022, their #Fresh2Death event featured seven clothing brands -– all led by Black men from Charlotte — and attracted more than 2,000 people.
Robyn Hamilton
President & CEO, Urban League of the Central Carolinas
Robyn Hamilton is no stranger to leadership. She served as CEO of the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council and was tapped to lead the diversity and inclusion strategy for the City of Charlotte and the Democratic National Convention Committee for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In December 2022, Hamilton was appointed president and CEO of the local Urban League. Since then, she has moved with determination to expand the League’s impact and visibility. The organization has a track record for providing job training in underserved communities, and Hamilton plans to focus more on quality career opportunities and the launch of a talent pipeline. In the area of education, she wants the League to be a leader in addressing the pandemic-related learning loss in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
“The League isn’t a community-based organization as much as it is an institution. A movement.“
Ramona Holloway
Community Affairs Manager, Radio One Charlotte
Ramona Holloway epitomizes community service. During her 30-plus years as a radio personality, she devoted countless hours to charity. She sits on the boards of Holy Angels, serving people with developmental disabilities, and the Western Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. For over a decade, Holloway served on the board of A Child’s Place, an organization serving homeless children in Charlotte’s public schools.
“My work is inspired by my relationship with God and a desire for all, particularly those most marginalized, to be safe, affirmed and provided equal access to the resources needed to not just survive, but to thrive.”
Chris Jackson
President & CEO, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
For nearly seven years, Chris Jackson has led Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. When asked about the organization’s impact, he can recite some impressive numbers — 17 million items donated and sold in 2022, more than 7,700 lives touched through Goodwill’s various training programs, and a 2022 economic impact estimated at more than $251 million. In the past two years, the nonprofit has added 230 new jobs due to its retail growth. But at the end of the day, Jackson says, it’s all about the people who have gone through Goodwill’s job training programs to find meaningful careers in information technology, banking, construction and trades.
“We advocate for people to be able to participate in the economy with pride, and to wake up each day with a sense of hope and purpose. That’s what drives me.”
Craig Little
Chapter President, Montford Point Marine Association
“Each branch of the U.S. armed services has an untold story,” says U.S. Marine Corps veteran Craig Little. In 2019, Little was instrumental in reactivating the Charlotte chapter of the Montfort Point Marine Association, which honors the first African Americans to enlist in the Marine Corps. Since its reactivation, the local chapter has awarded college scholarships, sponsored clothing drives and provided food for homeless residents. It also pushed to have the city rename a street in honor of the segregated recruits who trained at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, N.C., from 1942 to 1949.
“History should not be forgotten; it should be talked about and embraced. This goes beyond black history. It’s American history.”
Dan Lugo
President, Queens University
Under Dan Lugo’s leadership, Queens University is finding new ways to recruit deserving students from low-income households. Launched in 2023, its Charlotte Talent Initiative provides full scholarships, plus career mentorships, for Mecklenburg students accepted into the program. Lugo says the program promotes economic mobility while also serving as a “dynamic talent pipeline” to the university.
“Being around our students keeps me youthful and motivated and gives me faith that the future of our country and world is still very bright.”
Ericka L. McKnight
CEO, ELM School of Real Estate
Ericka McKnight wants to improve lives. She has paid for local youth to attend community college and is a 2023 recipient of the Queen City Women in Business Philanthropy Award. After a bad home-buying experience left her dismayed, she launched the ELM School of Real Estate in 2013 to help others navigate the process of buying and selling properties. A licensed real estate agent, McKnight says her goal is to help others create generational wealth through home ownership.
“We believe that no one should be left behind if they’re willing to go after it!“
Deronda Metz
Director of Social Services (retired), The Salvation Army, Charlotte
During her 33 years with the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, Deronda Metz was known for hands-on leadership, frequently taking direct action to help people in need. “Working in the trenches,” she says, helped her advocate more effectively for the poor. In December 2023, Metz retired as the agency’s director of social services, with a focus on housing and human trafficking. During her tenure, the local agency began offering shelter to entire families, including fathers.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to do some things about an issue I feel so passionately about. What greater thing in life can you do?”
Tommy Nichols
Founder, Charlotte Black Film Festival
As technology advances, so do Tommy Nichols’ efforts to close the digital divide in underserved communities. Through his various organizations, Nichols has trained and engaged with more than 700 youth, adults and seniors in classes ranging from digital filmmaking to coding to helping seniors securely navigate the Internet. This year, he will look to expand his digital footprint by introducing The Center for Digital Churches, which will focus on equipping churches with technology tools to grow and close the digital divide. Most recently, the National Park Service contracted with Nichols to write, direct and produce a “History of African Americans in The Great Smoky Mountains.” The documentary short will premiere in March during the National Public Lands Alliance conference in San Francisco.
“As I have broken barriers, I continue to enlarge the space by creating equity and inclusion in the film and technology industries.“
Tonyia Rawls
Bishop, Sacred Souls Community Church
Bishop Tonyia Rawls has been described as “legendary” in Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ community. In 2015, she founded Sacred Souls Community Church, an east Charlotte congregation where she now serves as pastor emeritus. As the 2024 elections approach, Rawls said, the Sacred Souls community will focus on mobilizing young voters. Through her nonprofit Freedom Center for Social Justice, Rawls works with state and national organizations to advance economic and social justice.
“Culture cannot be shifted without working across isles, streets and borders of various types.”
Nelson Rankin
Scout Leader, Boy Scouts of America
A gentle giant. An awesome role model. A leader of young men. Those are just some of the superlatives that poured in when Nelson Rankin died on Nov. 16, 2023. He was 71 years old. For decades, Rankin volunteered as a Boy Scouts outreach leader, recruiting kids from some of Charlotte’s most impoverished neighborhoods. When the families of scouts could not afford to pay for a medical examination needed to attend camp, Rankin would work with local doctors to provide the service for free.
“He just enjoyed doing what he did, and he wanted to make sure the young fellas were doing something productive, and he thought scouting was the best way to do it,” said Naomi Rankin, his wife.
Toussaint Romain
CEO, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy
As the chief executive officer at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Toussaint Romain leads a team of 70 employees, including 40 lawyers who assist low-income residents with free legal services in civil matters. At stake, Romain says, is access to housing, financial security, healthcare and opportunity. Demand for the center’s services has grown steadily since the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted people living on the economic and health margins. Romain, who spent nearly 10 years as an assistant public defender in Mecklenburg County, says the center is equally committed to tackling systemic issues that deny relief to children, families, veterans, immigrants and elderly residents.
“We are solving our neighbor’s problems, and this is what the elders would call access to justice.”
Ronald Ross
Community Leader
For Ronald Ross, improving the quality of life in his neighborhood means improving the air quality and other environmental impacts. As president of the Northwood Estates Community Organization, he partners with other local leaders and CleanAIRE NC to collect air quality data from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities in Charlotte’s Historic West End. In 2019, he presented evidence demonstrating the West End’s unequal pollution burden, ultimately securing the installation of a federal air monitoring station within the community. Ross continues to collaborate with local leaders and CleanAIRE NC to establish a Historic West End Green District that spreads clean air awareness, mobilizes residents to reduce harmful air pollution, and creates new green infrastructure.
“We can all make a difference by engaging with one another and advocating together to request and make effective changes for the benefit of all.”
Crystal Smith
Senior Project Director, Duke Energy
Crystal Smith is reminded of her work each time she gazes at the Charlotte Skyline. She oversaw construction of the 40-story Duke Energy Plaza, the company’s glistening new headquarters. Duke officials say Smith may be the first Black woman in the nation ever to manage the construction of a skyscraper. Work on the 600-foot-tall building started in spring 2019 and was completed in late 2023. The cost aligned with the company’s initial projections of $675 million. Smith, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Florida, said problem-solving is one of her core competencies.
“Always say yes. Don’t say no. Any challenge in front of you, you’re going to succeed or you’re going to learn. Either or, it’s going to help you grow. So always say yes.”
David Taylor
Former CEO, Harvey B. Gantt Center
David Taylor retired in 2023 after 14 years at the helm of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. He helped place the Center on the national stage with more than 70 curated exhibitions featuring national and local artists. During the pandemic, the Gantt ramped up its digital engagement with “Unmasked,” a series of virtual discussions that focused on issues of social justice, healthcare disparities and more. Taylor counts among his accomplishments a 2016 “Vibrance” campaign, which raised more than $7.5 million for a Gantt Center endowment. Taylor called the results “transformational.”
“It is, and has been, an honor to work with artists and mentor leaders who are blazing an incredible path for success of the Gantt and the arts at large for years to come.”
Daisy Walker
Volunteer, community activist
Daisy Walker has shown a lifelong devotion to promoting excellence and educating children. Having served as a teacher and principal in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for decades, she remains engaged after retirement, working with Communites in Schools at West Charlotte High. In 2002, she founded The Greater Charlotte Alliance of Black School Educators, which established the Dr. Daisy R. Walker Scholarship in her honor for high school graduates.
“I am one of those fortunate persons who goes home knowing that I make a difference in my community just by being an educator.”
Congratulations to everyone!