Recap: adidas NYC Doc Debut Honored 'Excellent' Black Women

adidas Honoring Black Excellence "Create With Purpose" NYC Documentary Premiere

Source: Arturo Holmes / adidas

Happy International Women’s Day! Life would simply not exist without the back-bearing strength of a woman, and today (March 8) we celebrate along with the rest of the world a moment to honor all the ladies in our lives. We got an early start to that on Leap Day last week (February 29) as guests of adidas at the NYC premiere of the sportswear stalwart’s new documentary series “Create With Purpose,” included as part of its 2024 ‘Honoring Black Excellence’ campaign. Conveniently merged between the conclusion of Black History Month and the eve of Women’s History Month, the evening in TriBeCa proved to be a perfect intersection for the celebration of both annual events by way of the pioneering Black female honorees. RELATED: Meet ESSENCE’s Four New Cover Girls Celebrating Black Women In Hollywood Setting up in Roxy Cinema, The Roxy Hotel’s decadent basement theater, The Three Stripes invited each of the ladies featured in the episodes of “Create With Purpose” to speak afterwards on a panel that reflected on the work they’re doing in their respective communities. Attendees were treated to wise words from the likes of Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother to the late Ahmaud Arbery, Stephanie Smiley aka “First Lady of the Drew League” along with Head Commissioner of the Drew League Chaniel Smiley, Dr. Nikole Roebuck of the world-famous Tiger Marching Band at Grambling State University and the combined efforts of Miami footwear designers Cheresse Thornhill-Goldson, Eliya Jackson, Ashley Comeaux, Precious Hannah-King, and Kimberly Shane. We got a chance to speak with Dr. Roebuck directly, who shined effortlessly in a ruby red snakeskin print overcoat. Her grace resonates in everything she does, especially in the way she answers questions. Given her place as the first Black woman in the Director of Bands position in Grambling U’s 97-year history, we had to ask whether the accolades feel right on time or more like a long time coming. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she said from her heart, “God’s timing is perfect, so within the course of everything that’s going on right now I have no doubt that God has placed me in the position that I’m in, at this particular time, to do some amazing things.” Speaking on the Tigers as a whole, she went on to add, “We are a very unique organization in terms of how we create our shows. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better team — I call them The Power Team! — and we take all of our creative ideas and put them together to see what we can use. I allow the students to have suggestions so the show is cohesive and everybody in the audience on that Saturday has something they can relate to.” And how, you might ask, does it get bigger than Beyoncé following their grand performance alongside King Bey at the epic 2018 event known as BeyChella? “When you talk about the first Super Bowl, the Rose Bowl parades, NBA games, presidential inaugurations — the list goes on and on when it comes to [The Tiger Marching Band]. Now, you throw Queen Bey into the mix and you have an entirely different aspect in itself! [Laughs] That was one for the books, especially because the students had no idea who they were performing for. They’re so used to prepping that we just rehearsed with the music without anyone asking questions. They didn’t find out until the actual day of the [first] performance, maybe even an hour before. They got a chance to actually dance in the circle with Beyoncé and Jay-Z after the performance, so that’s a moment they’ll always have. That did it for them.”

“For me to create with purpose, it means doing something that not only brings me joy but others around me, in addition to being able to support and make an impact on my community,” Dr. Roebuck said on how the event’s theme incorporates into her daily work; it’s easy to see from here why she’s one of the chosen honorees. On this International Women’s Day, and every day during Women’s History Month, we salute all of our ladies making strides out there in the world in an effort to make us all a more unified society. The sisters are doing it for themselves!