Shoshana Johnson was a Panamanian-born former United States soldier who is best known for being the first black female prisoner of war in the military history of the United States. Johnson was born in Panama but moved to the United States as a child. She was the daughter of Claude Johnson who was a retired Army Sergeant First Class. Johnson... read full bio
Shannon Reeves is a civil rights advocate, speaker, and political strategist who is the Assistant Professor of Political Science at Alabama A&M University. Through his work with Alabama A&M University, Reeves teaches undergraduate courses in American Politics and Public Administration. Reeves was born in San Francisco, California, and he has earned his B.A. in Political Science from Grambling State University... read full bio
Raymond Winbush, also known as Tikari Bioko, is an American scholar, author, researcher, psychologist and educator who is known for researching the impact of racism and white supremacy on the global African community. Winbush was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. When Winbush was young, he scored high on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test and went on... read full bio
Peniel E. Joseph is an American historian, scholar, teacher, and activist who talks on race issues. Joseph holds professorship at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. Joseph was born and raised in New York and he went on to earn his B.A. in... read full bio
Pamela Newkirk is an American journalist, editor, professor, author, and scholar whose work focuses on the way popular culture impacts African American lives. Newkirk has earned her B.A. in journalism from New York University, has earned her M.S. in journalism and art from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, and has earned her Ph.D. in International and Comparative Education from... read full bio
Otis Moss III is best known for being the pastor for Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ where he speaks on reaching inner-city black youth and talks on black theology. Moss is the son of Otis Moss Jr. who was an affiliate of Martin Luther King, Jr. where they worked together. Moss was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and originally... read full bio
Ory Okolloh is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger, who is best known for being the Director of Investments at Omidyar Network and for being the former Policy Manager for Africa with Google. Okolloh has previously earned her bachelor’s in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and also earned her law degree from Harvard Law School. As a writer,... read full bio
Lynette Woodard is a retired American basketball Hall of Fame player as well as a former women’s basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodard was born in Wichita, Kansas, and she began her career playing high school basketball where she helped her high school win two state basketball titles. After graduating from high school, Woodard went on to play college basketball... read full bio
Lee Elder is a retired American professional golfer who is best known for being the first African-American to play in the Masters Tournament which he was invited into after winning the Monsanto Open. Elder was born in Dallas, Texas, and when he was only 9 years old his father died in World War II and only three months later, his... read full bio
Keith Clinkscales is founder and CEO of First World Media, which is a media content and production company that provides premium products, services, and events to an audience that is passionate about urban culture. First World Media’s streaming service is REIGN, which focuses on content for urban and multicultural audiences. Clinkscales has also been founder of The Shadow League, which... read full bio
Kathryn Finney is an American author, entrepreneur and blogger who is best known for being the founder and CEO of digitalundivided (DID), which is a social enterprise that uses data to create systems change through innovation and entrepreneurship. She is also known for her research with #ProjectDiane, which was the first research initiative to explore the state of Black and... read full bio
John Kasaona is a conservationist who is known for working with people to reinvent conservation in Namibia where he works to turn poachers into protectors of species. While under South African rule, the animals in Namibia began being poached drastically and after Namibia gain independence, the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation worked with local communities such as Kasaona’s to... read full bio
Helene D. Gayle is an American doctor who is best known for being the CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, which is one of the nation’s leading community foundations that works with doctors, non-profits, residents, and community leaders to help create efforts to improve quality of life for the residents of Chicago. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, New... read full bio
Harry Edwards is an American sociologist and civil rights activist from East St. Louis, Illinois. Edwards has earned his B.A. from San Jose State University and has earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University. He has been a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and during his career he has spent most of it researching on experiences... read full bio
Geoffrey Ewing is an American actor who is best known for performing on stage in Off-Broadway productions and for his roles on television. Ewing began his career performing in Regional theatre and was also a founding member of the American Players theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. From there, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in Broadway... read full bio
Fred Ssewamala is the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at the Brown School and is also Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. He has also been an Associate Professor of Social Work and International Affairs at Columbia University School of Social Work, has been a Global Through Fellow with Columbia University and a Senior Research Fellow with... read full bio
E. Ethelbert Miller is an American professor, poet, and literary activist who is known for being the editor of Poet Lore magazine and host of the WPFW morning radio show, On the Margin. Miller was born in Bronx, New York, and is currently based out of Washington, D.C. He has earned his B.A. from Howard University and has gone on... read full bio
Darryl Van Leer is an American actor who is best known for his seven acclaimed one-man shows that he has written, produced, and starred in. He has also acted in film, television, reality shows, and has performed on stage. On screen, Leer’s television credits include the television movies “Witness to the Execution,” “The Second Civil War,” and “Steel Chariots.” He... read full bio
Carole Boston Weatherford is an American New York Times best-selling author and critic from Baltimore, Maryland, who is currently based out of North Carolina. Weatherford began writing poetry when she was in the first grade and by the time she was in high school, Weatherford’s father began printing out her poems on cards as he was a printing teacher. Weatherford... read full bio
William Tyler is an American musician and guitarist from Nashville, Tennessee, who performs a mixture of folk, indie, and pop rock music. Tyler’s father was a songwriter who has written songs for bands and artists such as LeAnn Rimes, S-K-O, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Tyler always had a passion for music and went on to earn his degree from... read full bio
