05
Karyn Parsons
Karyn Parsons made us fall in love with her back in the 90s when she portrayed the bubbly Valley Girl on the hit sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for six years. Her character, Hillary Banks lived her life in the lap of luxury, mostly concerned about her looks. Parsons, however, couldn’t be further from that in real life. In 2005, she founded and runs the creative non-profit Sweet Blackberry. The foundation writes stories of unsung figures in Black culture through kid-friendly animations.
06
Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Sports legend Kareem Adbul-Jabar has had one of the most diverse post-NBA careers to date. Pivoting from the league in 1989, he has been an actor, TV writer, author, pop culture commentator, and most recently, columnist. He frequently contributes content to publications as well as his own blog, discussing social happenings.
