Honored for impact

When clothing giant Adidas went looking for differencemakers in Black communities to recognize in the third wave of its Honoring Black Excellence program, it turned to Grambling.

And when looking for the exceptional, who better to receive the honor than the first woman director in the nearly centurylong history of the Grambling State University World Famed Tiger Marching Band?

Adidas chose GSU Music Department Chair and Director of Bands Nikole Roebuck as one of four honorees for its 2023 Honoring Black Excellence, an initiative celebrating the achievements of Black individuals and Black culture as a whole.

“I was a little shocked,” Roebuck said. “I was saying, ‘Oh, Adidas wants to honor me?’ But I consider it a blessing and an honor.”

According to the company’s website, one of adidas’ goals with the Honoring Black Excellence program is to create visibility by using its brand platforms to champion the stories of changemakers who are driving to make a positive impact in their communities.

For Roebuck, that impact comes through the hundreds of young minds that pass through GSU’s music programs.

“As the first female band director at Grambling State University in 97 years, to me this is very impactful work,” she said. “It’s centered around change agency. It’s the opportunity to elevate and transform my community through music. Leading the World Famed Tiger Marching Badn is not only an honor but also a privilege in that it allows me to be a role model for all my students.”

Adidas visited the campus throughout the 2023- 24 academic year for a series of interviews with Roebuck and some of her music students.

Last October the pro-gram held a special celebration for Roebuck with her family and loved ones, which of course included all of her band students.

“I always say I have one biological child and 200-plus that I have adopted along the way,” she said.

Adidas released a fiveminute documentary about her on its YouTube channel on March 7.

Also this month, Roebuck and the other honorees were whisked away to the program’s finale, a celebration at the Roxy Hotel in New York.

Among the other recipients is Wanda Cooper- Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arberry, who became the victim of one of the most high-profile hate crimes in recent years when three white men chased down and murdered him while he was jogging near his Georgia home.

Cooper-Jones founded the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation the next summer, which uses running to help serve, empower and affirm young Black boys on their path to mental wellness.

Also honored were Stephanie and Chaniel Smiley, leaders of the Drew League, which uses basketball programming to build the self-esteem of youth in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.

Finally, the last collective honoree was five women footwear designers in Miami who came together through mentorship and knowledge- sharing to build a community for the next generation of Black designers and artists.

“It was such an amazing group of women,” Roebuck said. “ There were no egos. We just embraced and celebrated each other for what we’re doing to impact the community.”

Adidas is working with each honoree to help further the causes in which she is involved. In Roebuck’s case, that will involve work with the Grambling State Foundation, the fundraising arm of the university, but the details of that partnership are still in the works.