10 Black Men Imprinting Inspirational Legacy For The Next Generation

by Duke Magazine

The true worth of success is when it is able to trickle down its potential to the lives climbing up the ladder. Humans are made to set legacies that will continuously mould the lives of the coming generations. However, imprinting value with certainty of diligence and optimism is what people really need to stay woke to their dreams.

Black people have had fascinating discourse of bestowing on their grooming generations the tenacious mind of “I can do it”. This in many years have yielded promising talents carrying on with the legacy their ancestors left behind. Nonetheless, there are still innumerable black people embellishing the narrative in many lives while in pursuit of their endeavor. These individuals are using their talents and position to work assiduously towards putting black lives at the fore global recognition and consideration.

To this end, Duke International Magazine is showing 10 great black people carving a niche for themselves for the generations to come to make do with.

Ozwald Boateng

Celebrating Black Legacy

Establishing his own studio in 1986, Ozwald Boateng (OBE) has made waves in the world of menswear with well-made, polished, and bespoke tailoring. Boateng also founded UK non-profit Made in Africa Foundation, which was established to assist development of the African continent via funding initiatives and large-scale business infrastructure development to begin “reframing the dialogue and perception of Africa.”


Lewis Hamilton

Celebrating Black Legacy

Equalizing the all-time record in his career with Formula 1 victories by winning the Eifel Grand Prix, 35-year-old Hamilton is F1’s only Black driver. In one of his interviews, Hamilton said, “I was the first working-class Black F1 champion. I’m proud to have paved the way for others. One of my favorite phrases is: ‘You can’t be what you don’t see.’ Anyone who sees me on the podium, even if it’s a child, can be inspired to follow their dreams. If that happens, I’ll have done my job well. Diversity is a problem that Formula 1 has to face up to. I want to do my part in helping the sport make progress, not only by inspiring others but also by collaborating to create more opportunities for people from different communities.”

Israel Adesanya

Celebrating Black Legacy

A household face in the world of UFC, Adesanya, the last stylebender, has quickly risen to prominence following his remarkable bout against Paulo Costa in September 2020, winning by TKO in the second round. The five-time “Performance of the Night” winner is considered to be one of the best strikers in MMA. “Adesanya, if he’s able to keep this fight standing, which he has proven time and time again that he’s able to do, is a problem for not only Jon Jones, but all the way up to heavyweight with Stipe Miocic.,” said Daniel Cormier of Adesanya. 

Chandler Smith 

Celebrating Black Legacy

US Army captain Chandler Smith, an elite-level CrossFit athlete, finished sixth in 2020 CrossFit games, taking both Noah Ohlsen and defending champion Mat Fraser to the line. Nonetheless, he has already got his eyes on a podium finish in 2021, alongside a welcome slice of humility. “Distractions persist, but I never lose sight of the real goals: being able to say I was a better athlete than my dad was, and documenting my current fitness enough to where I can post throwback photos well into my childrens’ adolescence. We’re on the right path.”

Dr. Winston Morgan

Celebrating Black Legacy

Amid the spike of the COVID-19 pandemic which places Black men at three times risk of dying of the infectious disease than white men, Dr. Winston Morgan was one of the first men to speak out about this injustice and gave explanations why the disparity has nothing to do with genetics, but with societal inequalities. “To understand how structural racism drives health inequalities – and ultimately deaths from COVID-19 – we must remember that race comes out of racism, and not the other way around. Without racism, race has no significance and cannot exist in any meaningful way,” he explains. “The artificiality of race and ethnicity, particularly as they apply to biological outcomes, often leads to confusion and contradictions. Race is defined by a limited number of physical characteristics, primarily skin color, hair texture and facial features. Ethnicity can be linked to language, culture and religion.”

Paul Hull

Celebrating Black Legacy

Paul Hull, the former England rugby union full back, head coach of Bristol and 289-cap player was the last black Premiership rugby head coach in the sport. Today, he has become the first to encourage younger Black athletes in the sport to consider going into coaching: “I would always say to young black players coming through, especially those in the England set-up, to go into coaching in future years because they will have experienced and gained a lot of information from Premiership and England coaches,” said Hull in an interview with The Telegraph. “There are no easy answers but hopefully it will not be long before we see the next Black head coach in England.”

UTCAI (United to Change and Inspire)

Celebrating Black Legacy

Patrick Hutchinson, Jamaine Facey, Chris Otokito, and Lee Russell make up UTCAI (United to Change and Inspire), a London-based collective looking to influence the next generation of Black men through education, discipline and MMA. “I’d love to see our young children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews have a better world than I’ve lived in, and a better world than my mother and her mother lived in,” wrote Patrick on the formation of UTCAI. “We have an opportunity to be heard, and we’re going to take it.”

Patrick Sang

Celebrating Black Legacy

A coach to sub-two-hour marathon holder Eliud Kipchoge and Geoffrey Kamworor, Patrick Sang started his coaching career in 1995 and has helped several athletes win titles around the world.“It’s simple,” says Eliud Kipchoge, history’s fastest marathon runner of Sang, “It’s being able to train, race and come back again for training at a high level every now and again. My coach Patrick Sang is very important. I lack the words to describe him but he is critical and crucial in my life. He is more than a coach: He is my manager, my life coach.”

Raheem Sterling 

Celebrating Black Legacy

Raheem Sterling, the 25-year-old England and Manchester City forward, is one of the vocal footballers who is not shy or afraid to talk about the issue of racism in football and in society. In 2020, he backed Black Lives Matter protests in the UK, saying “the only disease right now is the racism that we are fighting”, after thousands of people took part in #BLM marches across the UK. “This is the most important thing at this moment in time because this is something that is happening for years and years,” said Sterling.

Virgil Abloh

Celebrating Black Legacy

American designer, art director and entrepreneur, Virgil Abloh, founded Milan-based fashion label “Off-White” in 2013, and has since shifted the narrative on streetwear across the globe with his additional role as Louis Vuitton’s artistic director. Proving that street fashion can be worn and interpreted by any gender and any age, Abloh also made headlines in mid-2020 during the Black Lives Matter protest for donating five-figure sums to Black Lives Matter bail funds.

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