Daryle M. Lockhart

Final Log: Stardate 2026.3.21 The Impossible Has Happened

Son. Grandson, Husband. Father. GP(Grandpere).Friend.

Aesthete. Ad Man. Afrofuturologist.

Trekkie. Cinephile. Conduit on the 1s and 2s.

Podcaster. Founder. Innovator.

Directly from the Planet of Brooklyn.

Otaku is the Japanese term for people with obsessive interests. For Daryle Lockhart, his Otaku was curated through an ebullient life that expertly combined impassioned creativity and insatiable curiosity with Virgo precision and discipline. The end result was a modern Renaissance Man who created, advanced culture, and became a respected subject-matter expert during a wide-ranging career and life path that included stints as a music executive, a tech and creative director, marketing firm founder and a global marketing and communications executive.

Like Willy Wonka, Daryle believed in a “world of pure imagination” where ideas birthed creation, and creation became sacred. A world where comic books and record stores, constants from his childhood, were hallowed halls, and most, if not all, the world’s problems could be solved through the logic of Mr. Spock. A world where science was a demystified and accessible complement to Arts and Culture, and not separate from it.

A world where music is love and, like the MFSB classic: Love Is The Message.

Daryle was born September 9,1970 in Brooklyn, New York. He was a self-described “kid from public housing” who grew up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He graduated from Art and Design high school where he was a technology reporter for the school paper. He once said one of his proudest moments in journalism was covering Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. He studied advertising and marketing communication at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) while starting his marketing career during the “Golden Era” of Hip-Hop in the 90s. He was a promotions director for Virgin Music Group, Mercury Records, and was national marketing and promotions director for Loud Records, with clients including Wu-Tang Clan.

Along the way he also added credits as a creative director with Walt Disney Animation Studios and Cartoon Network Studios on the hit series “Courage the Cowardly Dog” before becoming a senior advertising manager at BET. Those experiences led to institution building as a creator and he founded Black Box Office, Sci-Fi Generation podcast, and a founding member of the African American Film Critics Association. Daryle’s advocacy and tactile skill helped position AAFCA as a pivotal voice in transforming the way studios work with Black and multicultural-led digital outlets. AAFCA is now the world's largest group of African American film critics, with Daryle serving as East Coast vice president.

Daryle was also an early adopter and active participant on emerging digital platforms. He actively engaged and built community and decades-long friendships around his interests in journalism, sci-fi, music, film, marketing, Black Culture and Pop Culture, and his beloved Chelsea FC on websites including NYO, BlackPlanet, MySpace, LiveJournal, Twitter, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and Prince’s New Power Generation Club, among others.

But all of those passions paled against Daryle’s love for his family. In 2001 he married his childhood sweetheart, Margo Harris. Daryle always publicly and unabashedly proclaimed his deep love for Margo, the woman he identified as “Number One,” his best friend and his favorite person on the planet. He once said of their union, “You can’t stop two kids from Marcy when they get it together.” Daryle credited Margo and his children, Darlene and Daryle Jr., with giving his life its true purpose and greatest legacy. On the occasion of his 21st wedding anniversary he wrote:

“Margo and I have been happily married for 21 years. 21! I remember BEING 21. Truth be told, we grew up together. In all possible ways. We were kids when we met, and immature adults when we said “I Do.” Today? Listen. We are grown. We are grandparents and grandparents. Our peace is our palace. Love is the address…My love for Margo is the greatest force in my life. I’m a very lucky person and I take that luck seriously.”

He also took tremendous pride in the success of his children as fully formed, critically and analytically thinking, creative and kind human beings, and loved that they also shared many of his passions. Darlene’s law firm Power in Protection and DJ’s matriculation at Berklee College of Music and entry into film scoring and music licensing gave him tremendous joy.

Daryle passed away on March 21 after a courageous, years-long battle managing colorectal cancer. He transitioned peacefully in Margo’s arms and surrounded by family in his adopted home of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Daryle is survived by his wife of 24 years, Margo; his grandmother Irene, mother, Adrienne; two children, Darlene and Daryle Lockhart Jr.; a granddaughter, Patterson; two sisters, Tara and Jennifer, his brother Donnell, Aunt Sharon, cousins who love him dearly and his mini irish doodle Disco.

“If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words they're gone. They'll come back.” — Prince Rogers Nelson