Aiesha Drew Halstead

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 Lawson

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 moore

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.

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 Wright

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 Burgess

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 Groot

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…

Cecil Cross

CECIL CROSSAuthor https://cecilcrosswrites.com Photo Download | Bio Download Cecil Cross II graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 2004. He is the Editor-in-Chief and co-owner of LOOK (Love Of Our Kind) Magazine, a nationally distributed, positive publication that he started for urban college students and young professionals. At 22-years of age, he has established a reputation…

Derrick Barnes

DERRICK BARNESAuthor www.derrickbarnes.com Photo Download | Bio Download Derrick Barnes is the author of the New York Times bestseller The King of Kindergarten, as well as the critically acclaimed multi-award-winning picture book Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut (Denene Millner Books/Agate Bolden) which received a the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Coretta Scott King…

Dick Gregory

DICK GREGORYAuthor https://dickgregory.com Photo Download | Bio Download Gregory, Richard Claxton “Dick” (Born, October 12, 1932, St. Louis, Mo.), African American comedian and civil rights activist whose social satire changed the way white Americans perceived African American comedians since he first performed in public. Dick Gregory entered the national comedy scene in 1961 when Chicago’s…