Fani T. Willis brought her girlfriends with her to The Apollo Theater in Harlem Tuesday evening to see her accept her award at The Root 100.
When Willis’ name was called, they cheered so loudly that the spirits of the venue’s most famous ancestors — Ella, Billie, Dinah, and Aretha — might have shaken the room along with the audience that clapped for the champion of justice.
Last night, every shade between Black and brown — with accents of white — touched the hallowed grounds of the world-famous theater for The Root 100, an annual celebration in which we honor those who impact the culture and bring about change in the Black community.
Comedian Roy Wood Jr., along with The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Tatsha Robertson, hosted the evening’s festivities. Wood’s mix of comedic timing and biting consciousness was reminiscent of Paul Mooney and Dave Chappelle, while Robertson stayed true to her journalistic roots (pun intended), providing the audience with facts and figures on some of the decorated honorees and the overall mission of the publication.
Honorees included changemakers in the fields of social justice, entertainment, entrepreneurship, media, politics, sports, STEM and the arts. Misty Copeland, the first Black principal ballerina for the American Ballet Theater, stood center stage and received a standing ovation as she accepted her award and told the story of how she once danced as a Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker” at the Apollo while Prince sat in the orchestra.
Copeland wasn’t the only performer in attendance with ties to the famous venue.
Jon Batiste, an honoree in the entertainment field, treated the audience to a medley of artistry that included a tour de force of classics on multiple instruments, including the piano and his voice. When accepting his award, Batiste told the story of how his father and mother packed him and his siblings in their family car and drove to New York where the patriarch performed during the Apollo’s iconic Amateur Night and won.
About 20 years later, Batiste himself performed with a friend on the same stage; 20 years after that, he’s a recipient of an award for The Root 100.
The evening was full of memorable moments: Al Roker and wife Deborah Roberts opened the ceremony as the night’s first honorees. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sashayed on the stage as “Golden” by Jill Scott played, declaring matter-of-factly, “I deserve to be here.” Robertson introduced Harlem hip-hop legend Doug E. Fresh and Dr. Olajide Williams, who launched Hip-Hop Public Health.
The program took the audience through a robust Black musical experience. The audience backed Batiste with gentle falsetto throughout his rendition of hits from Fugees and clapped to Leslie Odom Jr.’s acoustic set from his newest project “When a Crooner Dies.” A calm came over the audience when Brandee Younger played the harp minutes before Roy Wood Jr. closed the evening.
When all was said and done, the collage of couture, fur, and jewels outside of the Apollo could have been a photo from 1923, 1953, or 2023.
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James R. Sanders is a New York based freelance journalist and author of Reparations: Style + Soul out now wherever books are sold.