Racial Equity

TIME honors leaders driving racial healing and equity

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TIME’s Closers list honors Black leaders who are making significant strides in closing racial equity gaps. The 2025 The Closers list recognized 25 Black leaders — healers, leaders, advocates, and innovators — who are working to end inequality and improve the well-being of children, communities and families. For the first time, the list included a ‘Healers’ category, highlighting changemakers whose leadership brings people together across differences to advance racial healing.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation proudly celebrates these leaders who are creating a more just and equitable society.

The list features influential figures across industries, including actor and director Colman Domingo, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and many others.

The Closers full honorees list:

  • Colman Domingo, actor, director and producer
  • Danessa Myricks, founder and CEO, Danessa Myricks Beauty
  • David J. Johns, executive director and CEO, National Black Justice Collective
  • Dorothy Roberts, law professor and advocate
  • Elaine Welteroth, journalist, author and founder, BirthFUND
  • Elise Smith, CEO and co-founder, Praxis Labs
  • Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director, UPROSE
  • Emily Anadu, founder and CEO, the Lay Out
  • Eugenia Millender, co-founder and co-director, Center of Population Sciences for Health Equity at Florida State University College of Nursing
  • Gabby Thomas, Olympic gold medalist
  • Hank Willis Thomas and Rujeko Hockley, artist and curator
  • Jotaka Eaddy, founder, Win With Black Women
  • LaChanze, actor and producer
  • Lisa Holder, president, Equal Justice Society
  • Monique Couvson, president and CEO, Grantmakers for Girls of Color
  • Niecy Nash, actor
  • Percival Everett, novelist
  • Philip Cooper, founder and chief change agent, Operation Gateway
  • Rachel Scott, founder and fashion designer, Diotima
  • Sen. Raphael Warnock, Georgia
  • Sara Sidner, CNN anchor and correspondent
  • Tara Duncan, president, Onyx Collective
  • Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal, co-founders, Earn Your Leisure

By uplifting the work of these leaders, we recognize the power of bringing people together across differences to heal, foster understanding and drive meaningful change. Their efforts remind us that racial healing is essential to building a more just and equitable future — one where all children and families have the opportunity to thrive.

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