Thomas King

Award-Winning First Nations Writer

Annette Gordon-Reed

Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School & Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

Jeffrey Kluger

Journalist; Editor and Writer at TIME MAGAZINE. Author of 8 books, including APOLLO 13.

Iyanla Vanzant

New York Times Best-Selling Author, Spiritual Life Coach & Host of "Iyanla Fix My Life"

Rita Williams-Garcia

Award-Winning Author Best Known For "One Crazy Summer"

Damon Young

Co-Founder of Very Smart Brothas & Author of "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker"

Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Author of "Heads of the Colored People"

Scott Ellsworth

Historian, Journalist, and Author of The Secret Game

Kwame Alexander

Poet, Educator, Publisher, Emmy Award Winning Producer & New York Times Bestselling Author Known for "The Crossover"

Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope

Jason Reynolds

Critically Acclaimed Author & NAACP Image Award Winner

Montel Williams

Emmy Award-Winning Talk Show Host; Multiple Sclerosis Survivor; Health Equity & Veteran Advocate

Julianne Malveaux

Economist, Author & Political Commentator; President Emerita of Bennett College for Women

Spike Lee

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

David E. Hoffman

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author & Contributing Editor at the Washington Post

Nikki Giovanni

Poet, Educator & Best-Selling Author

‘Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project’ Review: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey

Angela Davis

Feminist, Social Activist, Professor & Writer

Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1

Donna Brazile

Veteran Political Strategist, Best-Selling Author & Former Interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee

Angela Bassett

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

Michael Harriot

Journalist, Author & Cultural Critic

Todd Bridges

Author, Director & Actor Known for "Diff'rent Strokes"; Substance Abuse Recovery Advocate

Lindsey Granger

Journalist, Writer & Producer

Jen Maxfield

Emmy Award-Winning Reporter; Columbia University Professor; Author of "More After the Break"

Danielle Belton

Journalist & Editor-in-Chief of The Root

Jed Lipinski

Award-Winning Journalist & Documentary Film Producer Known for "The Pharmacist"

Michelle Duster

Public Historian, Equity Advocate & Award-Winning Author Known for "Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells"

Reniqua Allen

Writer, Producer & Journalist

David Neiwert

Award-Winning Journalist, Domestic Terrorism Expert & Author of "Alt America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump"

dream hampton

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

Christopher Goffard

Author & Journalist for the Los Angeles Times

C.J. Chivers

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & Author