Spike Lee

Academy Award-Winning Writer, Producer, Actor & Director; Best Known for "BlacKkKlansman" & "Malcolm X"

Will Smith

Actor, Producer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist & Author

F. Gary Gray

Director, Film Produce & Actor; Best Known for Directing "Straight Outta Compton" & "The Italian Job"

Robert Townsend

Award-Winning Filmmaker & Former CEO of the Black Family Channel

Tyler Perry

Actor, Writer, Producer, Comedian & Director; CEO of Tyler Perry Studios

Denzel Washington

Actor, Director & Producer Known for "Fences," "The Book of Eli" & "Training Day"

Forest Whitaker

Award-Winning Actor, Producer & Director; Best Known for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" & "The Last King of Scotland"

Lee Daniels

Director, Writer & Producer Known for "Precious" and "Empire"; Creator of Lee Daniels Entertainment

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Comedian, Director & Writer; Known for "White Chicks" and "In Living Color"

Charles S. Dutton

Actor & Director Known for "Roc" and "The Piano Lesson"

Angela Bassett

Award-Winning Actress & Co-Founder of Bassett/Vance Productions

Will Packer

Award-Winning Producer Known for "Think Like A Man" & "Straight Outta Compton"; Founder of Will Packer Productions

Issa Rae

Actress, Writer, Director & Producer Known for HBO's "Insecure" & "Awkward Black Girl"

Ice Cube

Rapper, Actor, Producer, Director & Writer Known for "21 Jumpstreet" and "Straight Outta Compton"

Bill Duke

Filmmaker & Actor Known for "Commando" and "X-Men: The Last Stand"

Ava DuVernay

Academy Award-Nominated Director & Producer Known for "Selma," "13th" & "When They See Us"

How Film Changes the Way We See the World | Ava DuVernay | TED

Lupita Nyong'o

Academy Award-Winning Actress; Known for "12 Years a Slave," "Black Panther" & "Us"

Ryan Coogler

Film Director, Producer, and Screenwriter; Known for "Fruitvale Station," "Creed" & "Black Panther"

Jordan Peele

Filmmaker, Producer, Actor & Academy Award-Winning Screenwriter; Known for "Get Out" & "Us"

Jordan Peele and Dev Patel Break Down Their Directing Processes

Idris Elba

English Actor, Producer, Rapper and DJ; Best Known for His Roles in "The Wire" & "Luther"

Debra Martin Chase

Award-Winning Television & Film Producer Known for "The Princess Diaries" and "Cheetah Girls"

dream hampton

Cultural Critic, Award-Winning Filmmaker & Executive Producer of "Surviving R.Kelly"

Boots Riley

Rapper, Producer, Screenwriter & Director; Known for "Sorry To Bother You"

Jharrel Jerome & Boots Riley On ‘I’m a Virgo’ | SXSW 2023

Rick Famuyiwa

Director, Producer & Screenwriter; Known for "The Wood" and "Brown Sugar"

Tim Story

Film Director Known for "Ride Along" & "Think Like A Man"

Amma Asante

British Screenwriter & Director Known for "Belle" and "A Way of Life"

Regina Hall

Actress Known for "Scary Movie," "The Best Man" & "Ally McBeal"; First African American to Win a New York Film Critics Circle Award

Regina King

Academy Award-Winning Actress & Director

Reginald Hudlin

Writer, Director and Producer; Known for "Django Unchained" &"House Party"; One Half of Hudlin Brothers Production Company

Kevin Willmott

Civil Rights Activist, Filmmaker, Commentator and Professor at The University of Kansas