‘The Pandemic Work Diary of a Napa C.E.O.’ Peter Prato for The New York Times

One of my favorite new shows is Washington, DC-raised, master sommelier Carlton McCoy’s Sunday night show ‘Nomad’ on CNN.

Tonight, McCoy — one of three Black [note that McCoy is biracial] Master Sommeliers in America — is in Ghana. Learn more about McCoy on the CNN ‘Nomad’ show page.

In this long CNN video, we meet Carlton McCoy the man and also his hopes for the show as a cultural stepping stone of understanding. He is brilliant and a believer in ‘Ubuntu’, warm and articulate —a true humanist in every dimension.

Named a Master Sommelier in 2013 at just 28 years old, Carlton was one of the youngest people and the second African American to earn this prestigious title. Today he is President & CEO of Heitz Winery [read entire bio] in Napa Valley. Heitz’s 2016 Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was named Wine Spectators #3 Top 100 wine of 2021. You can buy it for $300.

The New York Times profiled the rise of Carlton McCoy in 2020, noting that today there are three African American Master Sommeliers in America, not two.

Some luxury brand needs to back this outstanding talent NOW. I’m speaking to you, LVMH.

Searching, I don’t see that Virgil Abloh and Carlton McCoy ever knew each other, but they are spirit brothers in every dimension.

Kim Jones + Amoako Boafo in Superb Dior Men SS2021 Campaign by Rafael Pavarotti AOC Fashion

Dior’s Mens and Fendi Women’s creative director Kim Jones, who has lived on the African continent, would also appreciate the enormity of Carlton McCoy’s life vision.

Jones is deeply involved in Ghana’s art scene through his relationship with artist Amoako Boafo, who worked with Jones on the 2021 Men’s Spring Dior collection. Dior’s tribute to Boafo is here.

AOC is Googling for updates on Dior’s intention to fund a major art center in Accra, headed by Boafa. AOC assumes that COVID has impeded the development of that project.

Amoako Boafo at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks opens this week on May 26.

Boafo’s first solo museum exhibition anywhere for the Ghanaian artist, Featuring approximately thirty works created between 2016–2022, “the exhibition is a timely exploration into the varying strategies that Boafo employs within his practice to capture the essence of the Black figure. Boafo creates paintings that actively center Black subjectivity, Black joy, and the Black gaze,” writes the museum.

Boafo is represented by Roberts Projects, Los Angeles and Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago.

Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Paris

Mariane Ibrahim opened recently a gallery in Paris, and Carlton McCoy touched base with her in the first episode of ‘Nomad’. The two heavyweights joined artist Raphaël Barontini for a home-cooked meal in Barontini's studio in Saint-Denis, a suburb, or "banlieue" of Paris.

McCoy said in the episode that he had noticed "a distinct lack of Black and Brown perspectives" in the capital's famed museums. Ibrahim agreed about the lack of a Black perspective in the Paris art scene.

In a world in sad need of optimism, Ibrahim says she believes that Paris represents hope. AOC feels the same way. Paris has "the right audience," she noted. "That's why I'm very, very optimistic about France. I do think Paris is going to be the capital of diversity."

This ‘capital of diversity’ designation absolutely belongs to New York City. But the rise of white nationalism is so strong in America, and uber-progressives struggle openly to digest the reality of ‘good’ white people in their ranks, that AOC also believes that the future of ubuntu and fruitful diversity lies in Paris.

I want to be wrong, but in this moment, AOC is also looking to Paris with hope. It doesn’t hurt that especially the LVMH brands are “all in” on diversity. BUT, we firmly believe that people like Carlton McCoy can bring multiracial coalitions together in America. He is a true golden prism of beautiful and very inspiring light. ~ Anne