EBONY Magazine Names Jari C. Honora Among 2025 Power 100 Honorees
The HNOC historian and genealogist will be recognized for his work uncovering the Creole lineage of Pope Leo XIV on November 4, 2025.
On September 10, EBONY Magazine announced its list of Power 100 honorees, as part of the publication’s 80-year mission to uplift Black voices, experiences, and successes. We are thrilled to share that HNOC Family Historian Jari C. Honora has been named among this prestigious list of trailblazers and leaders under the magazine’s Community Crusaders category:
Whether advancing wellness, driving grassroots movements, or reshaping urban areas, the EBONY Power 100 Community Crusaders stand on the front lines of change. They champion equity, representation, and justice, leaving a lasting impact.
In May of 2025, Jari was the first historian in the world to trace Pope Leo XIV’s Creole lineage back to New Orleans’s 7th Ward neighborhood—only hours after the new pontiff was announced to the public. An excerpt from Jari’s entry on the EBONY website reads:
Honora first shared the discovery on Facebook, and within hours it was making headlines from The New York Times to local broadcasts—bringing worldwide attention to a slice of Louisiana history and the power of genealogy. A historian of families and places, Honora continues to show how careful research can illuminate hidden stories and prove that Black history is world history.
Jari and the rest of the list will be honored at the 2025 EBONY Power 100 Gala on November 4, 2025. Read the announcement hereOpens in new tab and learn more about Jari and the rest of the honoreesOpens in new tab on the magazine’s website. We also encourage you to read about how Jari uncovered the pope’s New Orleans lineage in our First Draft blog post below.
From the French Quarter to the Vatican
Shortly after Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the first American pope, HNOC’s Jari C. Honora uncovered a surprising New Orleans connection, revealing the pontiff’s maternal grandparents to be Creoles of color from the Seventh Ward.
Related Stories
What’s the Difference Between Cajun and Creole—Or Is There One?
The answers are tied up in race, class, language, and, of course, history.
Creole Chic
Along with food and music, fashion was used by Louisiana Creoles to declare and express their unique identity.
Related Collection Highlights
Michael P. Smith Collection
Smith documented the music, parading, and Black folk traditions of New Orleans for decades.
Fortier Embroidery Sampler
A 200-year-old piece of needlework by a young student at the Ursuline Convent sheds light on the lives of Catholic Creole girls in early 19th-century Louisiana.
Cane River Collection
Over 1,400 legal and financial documents amount to a detailed record of one slice of 19th-century Black Creole life.
Related News
CBS Mornings: What to Know about Pope Leo XIV’s Ancestry
New Orleans Jazz Museum to Screen Award-Winning Documentary Made with HNOC Support
Gambit: Musical Louisiana Concert Highlights Works of Underrecognized Creole Composers
Related Books
Afro-Creole Poetry in French from Louisiana’s Radical Civil War–Era Newspapers
translated and introduced by Clint Bruce
with a foreword by Angel Adams Parham
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
