Danielle Deadwyler; JJ Johnson; Karen Pittman Credit - Mike Coppola—MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum Vogue; Alexander Tamargo—Getty Images for Atlantis Paradise Island; Monica Schipper—WireImage/Getty Images
In a moment when conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion face renewed scrutiny across corporate America and beyond, TIME convened its2026 class of The Closers— Black leaders committed to narrowing critical equity gaps—for an evening that felt both celebratory and urgent.
"The honorees on this year's list are shining a spotlight on the critical equity gaps in our society by improving healthcare, democratizing access to capital, bridging the digital divide, reducing student debt, expanding civil rights, and telling more inclusive on‑screen stories," TIME CEO Jessica Sibley told thecrowdgathered in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 12.
Since launching in 2024, The Closers has recognized over 40 Black leaders whose efforts address systemic inequities. The list represents a deliberate choice to highlight not just visibility but measurable impact—adistinctionseveral speakers emphasized throughout the evening.
Emmy-nominated actorKaren Pittman, critically acclaimed chefJJ Johnson, and artist and actorDanielle Deadwyler—all 2026 honorees—joined Sibley and Chris Crawford, founder of The Ancestors' Wildest Dreams studio, in delivering remarks.
Karen Pittman
Pittman, who is also a producer and activist, reflected on the experiences that shaped her commitment to service. "I spent virtually all of my childhood trying to be seen and appreciated that I was good, smart, and beautiful," she said.
Pittman quoted Maya Angelou: "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat."
After her parents' deaths, Pittman redirected the ambition born from that early invisibility towards healing, both of herself and others. She founded A Single Mothers' Group at Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan, volunteered atExtreme Kids & Crew(a Brooklyn gym for children with neurological disabilities), and became an advocate forFeeding America, the nation's largest food charity organization.
"I believe that one can face life's difficulties and create better experiences out of those challenges," Pittman said, "and at the same time, heal one's self."
Pittman's journey from invisibility to purpose has also shaped her screen work. Her Emmy-nominated performance as Mia Jordan on Apple TV+'sThe Morning Showand her role as Dr. Nya Wallace on HBO Max'sAnd Just Like That...have made her one of television's most compelling presences. Across these roles, Pittman has consistently brought depth to characters navigating institutional power and personal identity, themes that echo her own path from a childhood spent trying to be seen to an adulthood spent ensuring others are.
"Here's to those of us who have felt invisible," she said in her toast, "and who now understand that the most profound gaze is from the eyes of someone we help."
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JJ Johnson
Johnson, a James Beard Award-winning chef, devoted his speech to underscore how food connects us all.
"The most powerful tool to reshape our future, for me, is food," Johnson said, adding, "food is the greatest connector and will open up any conversation."
The New York City-based restaurateur knows how to make an impact. Last year, when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were temporarily suspended for thousands of people in his neighborhood, his Harlem fast-casual restaurant FIELDTRIP fed up to 100 people a day over the course of five-and-a-half weeks.
That wasn't the first instance of Johnson working to bridge a gap through food. In 2020, FIELDTRIP became a hub for the community when, after a conversation with his wife about how she couldn't eat within her nursing shift during the pandemic, Johnson partnered with local organizations to serve over 200,000 meals to essential workers. That was just six months after opening doors with a mission of starting a restaurant that offers better-for-you food.
"The goal was to give people high-quality food in an environment where zip codes don't matter."
Johnson concluded his toast by recognizing the tenacious work of his fellow honorees and left them with a call to action: "If we're going to call ourselves Closers, then the question is not what we finish, but what will we fix."
Danielle Deadwyler
Deadwyler, a multi-disciplinary artist, wove her weekly rhythm—a revolutionary poetry class through the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute—into a meditation on hope and collective struggle.
"Are we getting closer, or, is this a space for Closers? Cause outside, it's opening up," Deadwyler said, referencing the broader political landscape before pivoting to poetry. Her remarks emphasized the role of artists and changemakers "to change consciousness," drawing connections between the work happening in the room and the larger movements for justice beyond it.
The poet spoke of "huddling in hope at heroes inside keeping house" and "big dreams, executing small in Babylon"— a recognition that transformative work often happens in unglamorous, incremental ways. She invoked Octavia Butler's vision of collective transformation and closed with a reminder that honoring ancestors means doing "the living" they bled to make possible.
The Closers was presented by The Ancestors' Wildest Dreams.
Write toNadia Suleman atnadia.suleman@time.com.
