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JIM
LUCAS
"Dynamic", "heartwarming" and "soulful" are words often used to describe Lucas' portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His uncanny resemblance to King is breathtaking, and his performance consistently brings standing ovations and a deeper appreciation of King's life, work and vision.
View a video clip of this speaker.
More on this speaker. (PDF 428K) BERNICE
JOHNSON REAGON
Dr.
Reagon is a Freedom Singer who highlights her forty year
journey as a cultural activist,
scholar and artist. Founder
of Sweet Honey In the Rock,
she renders her passionate
convictions in a moving and
memorable mixture of song
and spoken word, drawing on
the life stories of 19th and
20th century African American
women whose struggles for
freedom guide her in this
moving presentation.
http://bernicejohnsonreagon.com
More on this speaker. (PDF 988K)
DR.
CHARLES JOHNSON
National
Book Award winner Charles
Johnson is a storyteller who
ingeniously braids history,
philosophy, and imagination
in making post-modern fiction
of the highest order, weaving
intellect and artistry to
express his belief in the
power of the past to shape
the present. A philosopher,
literary critic, cartoonist,
essayist, novelist, short
story writer and screenwriter,
his books include Middle Passage, Dreamer and Dr. King’s Refrigerator: And Other Bedtime Stories.
More on this speaker. (PDF 300K) PATRICE
GAINES
An award
winning journalist and former
Washington Post
reporter, Patrice Gaines works
to empower girls and young
women at risk, drawing from
the heart of her experiences
on the streets and in prison.
She is the co-founder of Brown
Angel Center, seeking to provide
formerly incarcerated women
and their families with the
tools to renew their lives.
Gaines is author of Laughing in the Dark
and Moments of Grace: Meeting the Challenge to Change. DR.
ROBERT BULLARD
 Leading the battle for environmental justice, from dealing with the toxic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to curbing urban sprawl, Dr. Bullard tells the stories of frontline warriors who are fighting environmental and human rights abuses. His research and activism challenges government and industry policies that place people of color and the poor at special risk. He is the author of 14 books, including Growing Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity and The Black Metropolis in the Twenty-First Century: Race, Power, and the Politics of Place, which were released in 2007.
http://www.ejrc.cau.edu
More on this speaker. (PDF 828K) STANLEY
CROUCH
Whether writing about jazz music or the state of black America, this iconoclastic cultural critic relishes taking down sacred cows. His scope of topics are as broad as his work as a columnist, novelist, television commentator and artistic consultant. Contrarian and courageous, Crouch's fiercely argued viewpoints take American culture to task.
KURTIS
LAMKIN
"The kora talks, for real. That's why when Africans were brought here all African instruments were banned from the United States - because they could talk." Performing his poems with the use of the kora, this unique performance leaves audiences with a new perspective of cultural history and understanding.
the persuasions
 This monumental gospel, R & B a cappella group has inspired audiences and performers alike for over thirty years. Vocal ensembles including Boys II Men and Take 6 have tried to emulate the smooth style and tight harmonies of this seminal group to no avail. The Persuasions prove time and again that the most precious instrument of all, the human voice, creates the ultimate in musical experience. BOBBY
SEALE
The
founding chairman and national
organizer of the Black Panther
Party compares the activism
of the 1960s with new-millennium
social change advocacy. He
covers topics as diverse as
all peoples: civil-human rights
and economic liberation in
today’s high tech computerized
scientific globalized social
order. He is the author of
A
Lonely Rage
and Seize The Time. TAVIS
SMILEY
Host of his own talk shows on both NPR and PBS, he is the author of five books, including the critically acclaimed Hard Left: Straight Talk About the Wrongs of the Right. He is the founder of the Tavis Smiley Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage, empower, and enlighten black youth. Exploring current events from a perspective not often heard in the media, Smiley speaks about everything from politics to sports, technology and education, business, and the need for cultural and racial harmony. SOJOURNER
TRUTH: “A WOMAN, AIN’T
I?”
Abolitionist
and suffragist Sojourner Truth’s
life is told in her own words
using her speeches and songs
in this dramatic presentation by Kathryn Woods. Born a slave,
Isabella Baumfree walked away
from slavery to become an
evangelist, when she wasn’t
being a maid or laundress.
In her travels she met preachers
and advocates of all sorts,
and evolved into Sojourner
Truth. DOROTHY SPRUILL REDFORD
 After ten years tracing the lives of four generations of her enslaved ancestors at the Somerset Place plantation, Dorothy Spruill Redford took on the task of converting it into a significant national landmark and educational center. Her intensive studies of African American genealogy, and the publication of her book Somerset Homecoming, have led thousands – black and white – to go in search of their roots and find an understanding of the life their ancestors led. She lectures on issues related to diversity, inclusion, and equity. TONY BROWN
 Nationally known television commentator of “Tony Brown’s Journal,” syndicated columnist and film director, his first book is entitled No White Lies. No Black Lies. Only the Truth! Now a bestselling author, Mr. Brown’s other books include Empower the People and What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life. DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX
 Economist, author and commentator, Julianne Malveaux is recognized for her provocative, progressive and insightful observations in a variety of print and broadcast media. Her contributions on issues such as race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts, help shape public opinion in 21st century America. Her two latest books are Unfinished Business: A Democrat and a Republican Take On The Top 10 Issues Women Face, and The Paradox of Loyalty: An African American Response to The War On Terrorism. ALAN PAGE
 Minnesota’s first African American Supreme Court Justice, Alan Page is widely renowned for his former career as a professional football player. He attended law school while at the height of his football career, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his time with the Minnesota Vikings. Page is an ardent defender of equal education for children. PATRICIA POWELL
 Lyrical, sensitive, seductive and compassionate, Powell frequently weaves gender, race and sexuality into her works, often writing in the dialect of her native Jamaica. Her style confronts weighty issues while conveying the rhythms of everyday life in such works as A Small Gathering of Bones, The Pagoda and Endless Nightmare.JESSE RHINES
 Author of Black Film/White Money, filmmaker Jesse Rhines discusses the portrayal of African Americans on and behind the silver screen as well as the historic and present-day contributions of African American men and women to the motion picture industry from 1915 to the present.
Derrick bell
 One of this country's most distinguished legal scholars and civil rights activists, Derrick Bell explores race, identity, cultural diversity, ethics and the law. He is the author of Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform, Ethical Ambition, and Faces at the Bottom of the Well.
william raspberry
 A nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist who addresses urban and minority affairs, Raspberry offers watchdog reporting with a conscience, offering hope and solutions for the social problems he describes. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, he is one of our country's most influential journalists. |
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NURUDDIN FARAH
 International award winning Somali novelist, whose themes focus on women's liberation and political and individual freedoms in his homeland. Widely recognized as the best contemporary African writer of our time, his stories are vivid reminders of living through cultural conflicts. YVONNE
LATTY
Why have so many black Americans been willing, and often eager, to serve in the armed forces of the United States? What role has patriotism played in their determination to serve? How might we explain that determination in the light of the racism these men and women faced? Yvonne Latty's oral history We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans tackles these questions in the words of black veterans. JAN
WILLIS
 Recognized in 2000 by Time magazine as one of its “six spiritual innovators for the new millennium,” Jan Willis is an award-winning teacher of religion whose engaging style and provocative stories provide enduring inspiration. Whether about Civil Rights history (she marched with King during the Birmingham campaign) or the non-violence of Buddhism, about overcoming racism, prison work, peacemaking or engendering happiness and hope in challenging times, Dr. Willis’s lectures offer many valuable insights.
www.janwillis.net
hezekiah griggs
 At 19 years old, Hezekiah Griggs, III is one of the worlds most famous teen CEOs. He is a walking example of what hard-work, dedication, and sheer "nerve" can do for anyone striving to realize their inner potential. Griggs has been a voice of reform. He is highly revered among his peers and colleagues for his business acumen and “Make No Excuses and Get It Done Attitude.” "the meeting"
Martin Luther King spoke of "passive resistance" and non-violent protest; Malcolm X demanded equality "by any means necessary". In this play, an imaginary Martin and Malcolm face off in a Memphis hotel room. Alternately funny, dramatic, and always insightful, Pinpoints Theater's production offers a look at the places where these two great men come together . and the places they part company.
http://www.nmgdm.com/pinpoints.html
"1001 black inventions"
This
play takes you on an eye-opening
journey through history, describing
the vast intellectual contributions
of Africans & African
Americans. A typical American
family is sent into a “Twilight
Zone” where they must
attempt to survive in a world
without inventions created
by African Americans. A unique
and entertaining way of realizing
that black ingenuity is an
integral part of our everyday
lives.
http://www.nmgdm.com/pinpoints.html
ROY
BROOKS
Roy
Brooks, author of Re-Thinking the American Race Problem and editor of When
Sorry Isn’t Enough:
The Controversy over Apologies
and Reparations for Human
Injustice,
is a leading legal scholar
and civil rights activist.
He argues persuasively that
African Americans are owed
reparations for the centuries
of enslavement their ancestors
endured. Brooks's new book Civil Rights Theory in Our Post-Civil Rights Era has been receiving great reviews.
FORREST
PARKER
President
and Chief Executive Officer
of the Virginia Educational
Council on Multi-Ethnic Concerns.
Forrest Parker is an experienced
keynote and motivational speaker,
facilitator, trainer, presenter,
and consultant in higher education
and community outreach. The
founder and director of the
annual Multi-Ethnic Perspectives
Conference, he has received
numerous awards and honors
for his work promoting diversity. GUY
PEARTREE
In 1859,
Frederick Douglass, a relentless
anti-slavery orator, was being
sought by the state of Virginia
with a warrant of arrest for
his alleged activity in the
armed assault on the Federal
Arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
This historical moment beset
with national and personal
drama is the setting for “Frederick
Douglass, 1859.” Guy
Peartree renders Frederick
Douglass with sensitivity
to the historical and folkloric
features of this period in
American history. SIDNEY
POITIER
This
Oscar-winning actor is known
all over the world for his
sensitive and powerful portrayals
in such socially charged films
as No
Way Out, Blackboard Jungle,
The Defiant Ones
and In the Heat of the Night, just to name a few. His activism and dynamic acting have
made him one of Hollywood’s
most respected and honored
stars for more than five decades.
GEORGE CURRY
 How does the mainstream media affect perceptions of race, both within and from outside the African-American community? George Curry gives an alternative media perspective on affirmative action, health care in minority communities, and young people of color. Named one of the nation’s most influential black journalists.
dr. na'im akbar
 Powerful, energetic, innovative and spellbinding, Na’im Akbar’s lectures stimulate, motivate, educate and inspire. He covers a full range, from the philosophical and scientific to the comedic and moving. Dr. Akbar’s lectures provide a candid, African-centered analysis of the issues affecting African Americans in particular and humanity in general. His lectures are always unique and his observations provocative.dr. jonathan farley
 Dr. Jonathan Farley is both a mathematician and a progressive political activist. The son of educators, he is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford, and his fields of interest include applying mathematical theories to counterterrorism and consulting for the hit television series "Numb3rs". Farley's essay, "My Fellow Americans: Looking Black on Red Tuesday," was published in Beyond September 11: An Anthology of Dissent. dr. julia hare
 Co-founder of The Black Think Tank, Dr. Julia Hare has been recognized nationally as a pioneer of the black male/female relationship. Her commentary and lecture topics include: politics, education, religion, war, foreign and domestic affairs, sexual politics, and contemporary events. JAWANZA KUNJUFU
 Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is a renowned educator and former consultant to the U.S. Department of Education. As president of African American Images, he is a prolific author and popular presenter conducting workshops designed to empower African American children and achieve a positive self-image. PATRICIA RUSSELL-McCLOUD
 Recognized as one of the most dynamic speakers in America today, Patricia Russell-McCloud lectures on a variety of subjects from quality education to human relations to African American history/life. She challenges her audience to act rather than react, to respond through reason not rhetoric, to dare to be different and to make a difference. OMAR TYREE
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