Barry Jenkins

Writer & Director of the Academy Award-Winning "Moonlight"

Issa Rae

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

Carl Franklin

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

Amandla Stenberg

Actor, Singer & Activist Known for "The Hate U Give," "The Hunger Games" & "Everything, Everything"

Viola Davis

Academy Award-Winning Actress, Producer & New York Times Best-Selling Author

Viola Davis on Speaking Up, Challenging Stereotypes

Spike Lee

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

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

Stanley Nelson Jr.

Emmy Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker Known for "Freedom Summer" and "Attica"

Dee Rees

Award-Winning Writer & Director Known for "Pariah"

Janet Mock

Author, Feminist, Transgender Rights Activist, TV Host & Founder of #GirlsLikeUs

Reginald Hudlin

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

Lee Daniels

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

Winston Duke

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

Cheryl Dunye

Filmmaker, Director, Writer & Actress

Rick Famuyiwa

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

Bradford Young

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

Tim Story

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

Kasi Lemmons

Writer, Actor & Director Known for "Harriet" and "Silence of the Lambs"

Amma Asante

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

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

Julie Dash

Director & Writer Known for "Daughters of the Dust"; First Black Woman to Direct A Full-Length General Theatrical Release Film in the U.S.

Sylvain White

TV & Film Director Known for "Stomp the Yard" and "The Losers"

F. Gary Gray

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

Shonda Rhimes

Executive Producer, Screenwriter, & Author

Shonda Rhimes Reveals SHOCKING Method Behind Her Creative ...

Janelle Monáe

Singer-Songwriter, Rapper, Actress & LGBTQ Advocate

Angela Bassett

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

Zazie Beetz

Emmy Award-Nominated Actress; Known for "Atlanta"

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"