50 leaders of tomorrow - Special Issue: 50 Years of JPC - The Next 50 Years: 1992 to 2042

Ebony, Nov, 1992 by Karima A. Haynes

FROM corporate board rooms to church pulpits to government offices to movie sound stages, a new generation of young Black men and women is emerging to lead Black and White America into the world of tomorrow.

Despite a prevailing perception that young people are unconcerned about others and bent on indulging their every desire, the 50 leaders featured on these pages have struck a delicate balance between serving those less fortunate than themselves while pursuing their own interests.

In recent months, EBONY combed the country looking for outstanding Black Americans age 30 and younger who possess the leadership, intellect, creativity and character that will undoubtedly place them among the movers and shakers in the 21st century.

These extraordinary young leaders range in age from a 14-year-old author, who wrote a book when she was 12 years old, to a 24-year-old NASA aerospace engineer to a 30-year-old CEO. Although their backgrounds differ, their commitment to excellence is the same.

In this, the 50th anniversary of Johnson Publishing Co., the editors decided to reprise past honorees as well as introduce new leaders to our readers. This list, however, is by no means all-encompassing, but rather a representative sample of the abundance of exceptional young people who, we believe, will make headlines in the next 50 years.

Rev. Bernice A. King, 29, Atlanta, lawyer and minister; chair, national advisory

committee, National King Week College and University Student Conference

on Kingian Nonviolence; member, Active Ministers Engaged in Nurturance

(AMEN), a juvenile delinquents' ministry.

John Sinileton, 24, Los Angeles, writer and director of critically acclaimed film

Boyz N The Hood; youngest person and first Black director ever nominated

for an Academy Award; director, HBO drama series, The Champ; directing

new film Poetic Justice; graduate, University of Southern California Film

School.

Latoya Hunter, 14. New York City, author, The Dairy of Latoya Hunter:

My First Year in Junior High (September 1992) a day-to-day account

of inner city life as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old.

Jesse L. Jackson Jr. 27, Chicago, vice president at large, Operation

Push; youngest appointed member, Democratic National Commit-

tee; law student, University of Illionois; graduate, Chicago Theological

Seminary

Malcolm Jamal Warner, 22, New York City, actor, NBC-TV comedy series

Here and Now and The Cosby Show; director, several episodes of The

Cosby Show and numerous music videos, author, Theo and Me.

Zna Portlock,28, Los Angeles, Counsel/labor relations, Fox Inc, board

member, Options House for homeless teenagers, trustee, Bethel

AME Church, board member, Black Attorneys Network