THEMBISA S. MSHAKAAuthor www.thembisamshaka.com Photo Download | Bio Download Creative executive, author, producer, filmmaker, activist, and entertainment branding specialist Thembisa S. Mshaka has been in love with words, music and media for as long as she can remember. Honored to be appointed the first copy director in Creative Services for BET Networks, Thembisa contributed to…
TOMMIE SMITH, L.H.D.Author Photo Download | Bio Download Tommie Smith began life quietly, born to Richard and Dora Smith on June 6, 1944 in Clarksville, Texas, the seventh of 12 children. Tommie Smith survived a life-threatening bout of pneumonia as an infant which allowed him to carry out the work that God intended for him.…
SHEETAL PRAJAPATIAuthor sheetalprajapati.com Photo Download | Bio Download Sheetal Prajapati is an award-winning artist and educator with twenty years of experience working in or with the world’s leading arts institutions. She has lectured nationally and internationally on topics including art, education and equity, and the future of the arts, at institutions including the Museum of…
AIESHA DREW HALSTEADAuthor Photo Download | Bio Download Aiesha Drew Halstead is the Manager of Curatorial Projects for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. She managed the installation of Kehinde Wiley’s statue Rumors of War in front of the VMFA in fall 2019 as well as the museum’s educational and interpretive programming around…
TAMMI LAWSONAuthor www.nypl.org/staff-profiles/tammi-lawson Photo Download | Bio Download Tammi Lawson is a Curator of the Art & Artifacts Division at the New York Public Library’s renowned Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The collection she oversees was born during the iconic Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and today houses approximately 15,000 works of fine…
JESSICA CARE MOOREAuthor jessicacaremoore.com Photo Download | Bio Download jessica Care moore is the CEO of Moore Black Press, Executive Producer of Black WOMEN Rock!, and founder of the literacy-driven Jess Care Moore Foundation. An internationally renowned poet, playwright, performance artist and producer, she was the 2013 Alain Locke Award Recipient from the Detroit Institute…
SHANNON DOWLER, M.D.Author shannondowlermd.com Photo Download | Bio Download Professionally, Shannon Dowler, MD is a board-certified Family Physician and Fellow from Asheville, NC and Certified Physician Executive (CPE). An advocate for health equity and the intentional reduction of health disparities, Dr. Dowler maintains a small panel of patients in a primary care walk-in clinic as…
BIL WRIGHTAuthor www.bilwright.com Photo Download | Bio Download Bil Wright is an award-winning novelist and playwright. He is the author of the acclaimed novels When the Black Girl Sings, Sunday You Learn How to Box, and Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy, which won the Lambda Literary and Stonewall Awards. His other awards include a…
TAMIKA BURGESSAuthor www.tamikaburgess.com Photo Download | Bio Download Tamika Burgess is a storyteller with over a decade of novel, TV/film, and personal essay writing experience. Born to parents who migrated from Panamá, Tamika has always taken a particular interest in writing themes that explore her Black Latina identity. Because of her passion for spreading the…
ANNIKA de GROOTAuthor www.annikadegroot.com Photo Download | Bio Download Annika de Groot is an artist with a background in visual media, film and web production and photo editing, and has taught arts-oriented workshops for over 20 years. She has a wide range of crafting experience, from textile manipulation—including dyeing, marbling, and silk painting—to medieval illumination…
