Brandy, Lena Waithe & More Named Members of 2026 Ebony Power 100 Honoree Court

Grammy Award-winning artist Brandy, Emmy Award-winning writer-producer-actor Lena Waithe and Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen are three of the six special honorees who will be celebrated during the 2026 Ebony Power 100 Gala. The event will take place at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Nov. 9.

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The three additional special honorees comprising the Power 100 Court are Seattle Storm WNBA player Flau’jae Johnson, digital influencer and culinary tastemaker Keith Lee and NASA Astronaut Emeritus Victor Glover. Encompassing music, sports, media ownership, finance and space exploration, the court personifies the gala’s theme, “The Stories We Shape.” In accepting their award on stage, each member of the court will be honored with a dedicated tribute.

“For more than 80 years, Ebony has kept the record of the people moving Black America forward, and the court is that record at its most vivid,” said Ebony CEO Eden Bridgeman in announcing the news. “They wrote it themselves, and that is exactly what this year’s Power 100 celebrates.”

The ceremony will take honorees and guests inside an immersive creative world called “La Cour” — a reimagining of historical grand royal courts. Headlining the evening’s live entertainment will be Grammy winners Kirk Franklin and T.I., who will open and close the celebration, respectively. T.I. is also a member of this year’s Power 100 Music Innovators class.

T.I., as well as every member of the 2026 Power 100, will be recognized during the ceremony. Additional honorees in the Music Innovators class who were previously announced include Jay-Z, Megan Thee Stallion, Durand Bernarr and Adam Blackstone. The complete list of Power 100 honorees — leaders chosen across 11 categories — is available on the Ebony website.

The 2026 Ebony Power 100 Gala is produced in partnership with Jesse Collins Entertainment.