Violeta Donawa is a healing practitioner and applied sociologist who has committed her life to social justice at the spiritual, community, and systemic levels. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA to an African-American mother and Panamanian father. As someone whose identity has shaped her, she has spent much of her life engaged …
Hatim Eltayeb was among the first faculty members of African Leadership Academy. From 2009-2012, he taught primarily in the African Studies department. He also Chaired the Seminal Readings Committee, shaping the curriculum for a unique Socratic course at the heart of the Academy. As a Hallmaster in the student residence, he gained an appreciation of …
Dr. Chinelo L. Njaka is a social scientist and researcher based in Peckham, London, UK. She is a Nigerian American who group up in Minnesota, USA and later moved to England for postgraduate studies. She holds a MA in Culture, Globalisation and the City from the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. …
Alicia Garza is an African-American activist and editorial writer who lives in Oakland, California. She has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for domestic workers, ending police brutality, anti-racism, and violence against trans and gender non-conforming people of color. Her editorial writing has been published by The Guardian, The Nation, …
Chancelor Jonathan Bennett known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and philanthropist from the West Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. In 2013, he began to gain recognition following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. Apart from his solo career, he is a member of the …
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DeRay Mckesson was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The son of two now-recovered addicts, he thrived under the love and guidance of his father as well as other members of his family. By the time he was a teenager, DeRay became the chairman to Youth As Resources, Baltimore’s only youth-led grant-making organization. He also was a …
Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn is an assistant professor at the Columbia School of Social Work and a Faculty Affiliate of the Columbia Population Research Center. Her research integrates principles and methodologies across psychology, stress physiology and social epidemiology to investigate relationships between racism-related stress and racial health disparities across the life course. Her work has …
Jazmin Graves is a PhD candidate in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. Her doctoral research centers on the African-Indian (Sidi) Sufi devotional tradition of western India. In spring 2017, Jazmin organized the SISAAS (Scholars at the Intersection of South Asian and Africana Studies) Colloquium at Howard University, …
Justin Hansford is a Howard University law professor and Executive Director of the new Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center. He is a leading scholar and activist in the areas of critical race theory, human rights, and law and social movements. He is a co-author of the forthcoming Seventh Edition of Race, Racism and American Law, …
Shaun King is an American writer and civil rights activist. He is noted for his use of social media to promote religious, charitable, and social causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement. He is a columnist for the Intercept. Previously, he was a contributing writer for Daily Kos and a political commentator for The Young …