Carl Franklin

Actor, Director & Producer Known for "Devil in a Blue Dress"

Regina Hall

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

Will Smith

Actor, Producer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist & Author

Thomas Q. Jones

Former NFL Running Back, CEO of JoinLevel, LLC & Actor Known for "Luke Cage"

Daniel Kaluuya

British-Ugandan Actor Known for "Get Out," "Black Panther" & "Judas and the Black Messiah"

Cynthia Erivo

Singer-Songwriter & Grammy & Tony Award-Winning Actress; Known for "The Color Purple," "Wicked" & Portraying Harriet Tubman in "Harriet"; Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts

Issa Rae

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

Jordan Peele

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

Jordan Peele and Dev Patel Break Down Their Directing Processes

Lee Daniels

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

Jabari Banks

Television Actor, Known for "Bel-Air"

Siddiq Saunderson

American Actor; Known for "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" and "Messiah"

Winston Duke

Actor Known for Marvel's "Black Panther" and "Us"

Rick Famuyiwa

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

Charles Stone III

TV, Music Video & Film Director Known for "Drumline" and "Paid in Full"

Salim Akil

Director of Popular TV Shows Including "Black Lightning" & "Being Mary Jane"

Millicent Shelton

Music Video & Television Director

Bradford Young

Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Known for "Arrival" & "When They See Us"

Ashton Sanders

Actor; Best Known for "Moonlight" and "The Retrieval"

Tim Story

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

John David Washington

Former NFL Running Back; Golden Globe Nominated Actor Known for "BlacKkKlansman" & "Ballers"

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

Ryan Coogler

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

F. Gary Gray

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

Denzel Washington

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

Tyler Perry

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

dream hampton

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

Kiki Layne

Actress Known for "If Beale Street Could Talk" and Netflix's "The Old Guard", "Coming to America 2"

Zazie Beetz

Emmy Award-Nominated Actress; Known for "Atlanta"

Boots Riley

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

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

Cheryl Dunye

Filmmaker, Director, Writer & Actress