Barack Obama, Bob Johnson, and Clarence Thomas might not ever really want to be in the same room together, but they can't help it if they're on the same list. For the 45th year in a row, Ebony put together a grand list of the most influential black Americans. It contains the usual and unusual suspects, a whole lot of people I have never heard of, most major black elected officials, and some up and comers. Check out a select sample after the jump.

NEW POWER LIST

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux and Roland Martin, pushed to the forefront by their campaign coverage, made this list, along with Lebron James (eye roll), and a very interesting 23-year-old named Bakari Sellers who is the youngest member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

POLITICS AND LAW

Pretty much every member of the Congressional Black Caucus is present on the list, plus our two black governors, and most black mayors. Can we all guess which mayor was conspicuously absent? A hint: He likes hip hop.

RELIGION

For better or worse, it seems Ebony neither rebukes nor renounces Louis Farrakhan. And the federal probe into Rev. Creflo Dollar's finances doesn't seem to have made a dent in his Ebony power. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, on the other hand? M.I.A.

PUBLIC SERVICE

My favorite Darfur activist, Don Cheadle made this list, along with my least favorite Civil Rights activisit, Al Sharpton. Dr. Huxtable makes an appearance here, as well.

BUSINESS

Kimora and Russell may be finished, but they share a spot of honor on the list along with Diddy, Jay-Z, Bob Johnson, Debra Lee (criticism and picketing be damned), Magic Johnson, and a bunch of CEOs who are richer and more successful than I'll ever be. Bummer.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tyra's here, of course. So is Shonda Rhimes, Oprah (who should have been on the business list, too), and gazillionaire Tiger Woods.

There are lots more where that came from. If you're in college and still trying to figure out who to send your resume to, the issue's out next week.