As the Power 100 festivities continue, EBONY has revealed the six members of its 2026 Power 100 Court, the special honorees who will be celebrated on stage at the Gala on Monday, Nov. 9, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The Court represents the honorees whose work most fully embodies this year’s theme, “The Stories We Shape.” Each member will receive a dedicated tribute and accept their honor in person on the Palladium stage.
“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. They wrote it themselves, and that is exactly what this year’s Power 100 celebrates,” said Eden Bridgeman, CEO of EBONY.
The full court includes GRAMMY-winning singer and actress Brandy, Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen, Digital influencer and culinary tastemaker Keith Lee, Actress, producer, and screenwriter Lena Waithe, NASA astronaut Victor Glover and Seattle Storm WNBA player Flau’jae Johnson.
The program will also feature live musical performances from 20x Grammy-winning artist Kirk Franklin, who will open the show alongside Grammy-winning rapper, entrepreneur, and member of this year’s Music Innovators class, T.I., to close out the ceremony. As the Court takes the stage, the ceremony will recognize every member of the 2026 Power 100, and honorees will be photographed in the gala’s portrait studio, adding the 2026 honoree class to EBONY’s eight-decade visual record of Black leadership.
Notable names on the full Power 100 list include Jay-Z, Megan Thee Stallion, Keke Palmer, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and the New York Knicks champs Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges. The north star for this list is to highlight those with a before-and-after effect for years to come. Being a leader doesn’t always mean glamour; effective leadership understands the dedication, blood, sweat, and tears often required when you’re striving to nurture change.
The evening will unfold inside “La Cour,” the gala’s immersive creative world, which reimagines the grand royal courts of history with Black excellence at their center. Produced in partnership with Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE), the private, invitation-only gala begins with a 5:00 p.m. red carpet and cocktail hour, followed by the 7:30 p.m. awards ceremony and a 10:30 p.m. post-reception. The 2026 Power 100 recognizes leaders across 11 categories, from the Junior Bridgeman Business Vanguards, named in honor of EBONY CEO Eden Bridgeman’s late father, to STEM Trailblazers, Media Mavens and Generation Next.