Alexandra Zeppeiro is an honors junior at Howard University, majoring in Philosophy with a minor in African American Studies, and a Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Scholar. A Mellon Mays Fellow, she serves as Managing Editor of the Howard University Journal of Philosophy and President of the Philosophy Student Engagement Team. Alexandra's research explores the intersection of race, class, and policy, with presentations at conferences like the Oliver Cromwell Cox Conference in Trinidad and Tobago. She has interned at Stanford’s Black Academic Development Lab and contributed to the Intra-American Slave Trade Database. Alexandra aims to pursue a PhD in philosophy.

Amy Yeboah Quarkume, known as Dr. A, is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Howard University. She is a data scientist and filmmaker with expertise in AI Bias, data inequality, and environmental justice. Dr. Quarkume is the Director of Graduate Studies for the Master's Program in Applied Data Science and Analytics and leads the CORE futures lab and NOAA Cooperative Science Center projects. Her "What's Up with all the Bias" project addresses data pollution in marginalized communities. She has published in several academic journals and media outlets.

Asia Alexander is a junior at Howard University, majoring in journalism with a minor in political science. Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, she serves as the business manager at The Hilltop, Howard’s student newspaper, where she previously covered premieres like Black Panther 2 and The Color Purple as a variety and culture reporter. Asia also freelances for Washingtonian and Essence, blending her love for fashion and politics. A Forbes editorial intern this past summer, she covered DEI and educational policy. Asia is a published writer with NASA and General Motors, contributing to their respective journalism and research initiatives.

Brienne A. Adams is an Assistant Professor of Black Studies at Georgetown University. She earned her PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research utilizes Black feminisms, queer, and affect theories to examine Black popular culture fans meaning-making on social media platforms as an example of Black digital knowledge production and public intimacy. Her work has appeared in Digital Humanities Quarterly and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Bryan M. Jenkins is a cultural scholar who received his degree in Communication, Culture and Media Studies from Howard University and is a 2022 inductee into the Yale University Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. His research explores how Black people educate and empower one another and find resiliency through both traditional and digital practices. His work positions podcasts as a critical educational tool for Black communities that continues the traditions of Black legacy media. Dr. Jenkins has also led projects for Traditional Arts DC, a cultural heritage program that focuses on people native to Washington, D.C. His work with Traditional Arts DC engages local communities and documents and amplifies the importance of their culture. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina, where he is continuing his research that engages Black culture, health, and digital technology.

Carole Boyce Davies is Chair of the English Department at Howard University and H.T. Rhodes Professor Emerita at Cornell University. She is the author of Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones and Black Women, Writing and Identity: Migrations of the Subject. Her works explore African, Caribbean, and African Diaspora literature, including Caribbean Spaces and Walking/An Avan. Boyce Davies has published over a hundred essays and edited several critical collections, including Moving Beyond Boundaries and the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora. A member of UNESCO's General History of Africa scientific committee, she edited the "Global Blackness" forum and recently published Black Women's Rights: Leadership and the Circularities of Power.

Edwidge Danticat is a celebrated Haitian-American author known for her novels and short stories that explore themes of immigration, identity, and the Haitian diaspora. She gained acclaim with her debut novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Her other notable works include Krik? Krak!, The Farming of Bones, and Brother, I'm Dying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Danticat's latest book, We're Alone, is a collection of eight essays addressing intimate and historical topics such as her personal journey, Haiti’s history, parenting, and migration. Danticat has received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and is a passionate advocate for human rights, particularly for Haitian refugees and immigrants.

Ehime Ora is a Nigerian scholar, writer, artist, and priestess dedicated to ancestral connections and personal healing. Her debut book, Ancestors Said: 365 Introspections for Emotional Healing, was published independently in 2021 and re-released through Hay House in 2023. Her forthcoming book, Spirits Come From Water, is set for release in November 2024. Drawing from African philosophy and spiritual practices, Ehime blends introspection with creative expression through spoken word, visual arts, and sculpting. Ehime's work integrates her ADHD and Autism, enhancing her accessibility and inclusivity.

Eric Ruffin, director/teacher, has helmed regional productions at Mosaic, Lyric Rep., Young Playwright’s, Kennedy Ctr., Mann Ctr., The French Embassy, U.S. Supreme Court, Theatre Alliance, Studio, Crossroads, African Continuum, Imagination Stage, Luna Stage, and George Street Playhouse. For both Howard U. and Rutgers U. he has directed numerous mainstage productions. Ruffin is a former Drama League Fellow, Folger Shakespeare Fellow, Princess Grace Awardee for Dance, and NYTW Usual Suspect. His direction of Langston Hughes’ BLACK NATIVITY was recognized with 3 Helen Hayes Awards including Best Musical. He’s currently a commissioned artist for Studio Theatre and serves on Woolly Mammoth’s Board of Directors.

Fredara Mareva Hadley is an ethnomusicology professor in the Music History Department at The Juilliard School, where she specializes in African American music and ethnomusicology. She has presented her research at conferences worldwide and co-curated the 2020 Black History Month exhibit at Juilliard, Claiming Your Space: Honoring the Artistry and Activism of Black Juilliard Students. In 2024, she continued this work by curating the concert Claiming Your Space: A Celebration of Black Music at Juilliard. Hadley’s research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Billboard, and she has appeared in PBS docuseries including The 1619 Project. Her forthcoming book, I'll Make Me a World, explores the contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Black music.

Greg Thomas, CEO of the Jazz Leadership Project, is a writer, teacher, and entrepreneur. Thomas has written about culture, race, and democratic life in publications ranging from the Village Voice, Integral Life, New Republic, Salon, UPTOWN, The Root, the Guardian Observer, and the New York Daily News—as jazz columnist. Thomas has contributed to two books centering on the work and thought of his mentor, Albert Murray: Albert Murray and the Aesthetic Imagination of a Nation, and Murray Talks Music: Albert Murray on Jazz and Blues, for which he penned the Afterword.

Jaiya John, born orphaned in New Mexico, is an internationally acclaimed author, poet, and freedom worker. Founder of Soul Water Rising, a mission to end oppression, John’s books have contributed to social healing worldwide. His works include Fragrance After Rain, Daughter Drink This Water, and Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. Jaiya also narrates the podcast I Will Read for You and leads The Gathering, a global storytelling initiative.

Jamila Minnicks' debut novel Moonrise Over New Jessup won the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, the 2023 Southern Review’s Book of the Year, and the 2024 Black Caucus for the American Library Association First Novelist Award. New Jessup was also a finalist for the 2023 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was longlisted the 2023 Crook’s Corner Book Prize. Jamila’s short stories and essays are published in Ploughshares, The Sun, CRAFT, Catapult, Blackbird, The Write Launch, and elsewhere.

Jared A. Ball is a Professor of Communication and Africana Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. and author of The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power. Ball is also host of the podcast “iMiXWHATiLiKE!”

Jordan Lindsey is a nonprofit researcher and data scientist who earned his PhD from Howard University’s Communication, Culture & Media Studies program. His dissertation, “Narrative Communication for Black Lives Matter” analyzed the narrative structure of communication on Twitter in the context of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and their interpretation. Jordan has written op-eds for Slate Magazine and is currently a writer for 730DC, a community-focused, weekday newsletter containing news stories in the DMV area.  

Julius B. Fleming, Jr. research focuses on Afro-diasporic literature and cultures, with interests in performance studies, black political culture, and the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. His book, Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation, reexamines the Civil Rights Movement through black theatre. Fleming is working on a second book about colonial expansion's impact on Afro-diasporic cultural production. His scholarship appears in leading journals, and he has received fellowships from prestigious institutions.

Kamilah Forbes is an award-winning director and producer for theater and television. She currently serves as the executive producer at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Forbes has won awards for both directing and producing, including the 2019 NBTF Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award and an NAACP Image Award. Directing credits include By the Way, Meet Vera Stark written by Lynn Nottage, Blood Quilt written by Katori Hall, and Sunset Baby written by Dominique Morisseau. She has also worked closely with Kenny Leon on The Wiz Live, A Raisin in the Sun, Mountaintop, and Stick Fly on Broadway. Forbes’ most recent directorial work for television is HBO’s Between the World and Me.

Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is an award-winning educator, writer, and cultural artist. She is the 2023-2026 Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, MD, and the co-editor of Homeschooling Black Children in the U.S. Ali-Coleman is the founder of the education research group, Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars, LLC; the 501(c)3 nonprofit Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice, Inc.; and multidisciplinary performance arts group, Liberated Muse. She has authored several books and plays, including her poetry collection For the Girls Who Do Too Much and the children's book Mariah's Maracas.

Khalid Y. Long, Interim Associate Dean of Research and Creative Endeavors at Howard University, is also an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Coordinator of the Foundations Area. Previously, he was at Columbia College Chicago and the University of Georgia. His published work includes "Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity" and the forthcoming "An Architect of Black Feminist Theatre: Glenda Dickerson, Transnational Feminism, and The Kitchen Prayer Series." He serves on boards for the August Wilson Society and ASTR.

Kimberly F. Monroe is a first-generation college graduate from South Louisiana. She is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and African American History at Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC. She is a scholar of African American Studies and the global African Diaspora. Her research interests include Africana Women Activism, Black Internationalism, Global Black Power, Pan-Africanism, Hip Hop and Africana Literature. She is currently developing her manuscript, The Black Underground: Assata Shakur and Global Freedom Struggles. She is an organizer with Pan-African Community Action (PACA) a grassroots group of African/Black people organizing for community-based power. 

She earned a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies with a minor in African History and Women’s Studies from Howard University and is a proud graduate of Grambling State University where she received her BA in History and Black Studies. Her hobbies include photography, visiting bookstores, museums, traveling and learning throughout the Black world.

Kweli Zukeri has been with Howard University for nearly 15 years, starting as a web developer in 2010. He now serves as the AVP of Web Innovation & Strategy, leading the UX & Web Strategy team in developing a cloud-based web system and rebuilding over 90 University sites. His work integrates cutting-edge technologies, including AI-based tools, to enhance the University’s web ecosystem. Kweli is also a member of Howard’s Presidential AI Council, supporting equitable AI adoption. In addition to his role at Howard, Kweli co-hosts the HU2U podcast, where he recently led discussions on ADHD and AI’s societal impacts.

LaFrae Olivia Sci is a prominent rock, jazz, and session drummer based in New York City, endorsing Sabian cymbals and Vater sticks. A composer, arranger, and bandleader, she was the musical director for Sandra Bernhard’s Broadway musical Everything Bad and Beautiful. LaFrae has served as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and is a founding board member of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. She leads a music education program sponsored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center, designed to expand jazz knowledge among middle school musicians in NYC. LaFrae performs with Burnt Sugar, Hot Caramel, and recently formed The 13th Amendment. Her work has been featured in Modern Drummer and TomTom magazine, and she blogs on LaFrae Blog O Love.

Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol farmer, author, mother, and food justice activist who has been tending the soil and organizing for an anti-racist food system for 25 years. She currently serves as founding co-ED and Farm Director of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York, a Black & Brown led project that works toward food and land justice. Her books include Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land and Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists.

Leslie-Ann Murray is a fiction writer from Trinidad & Tobago. She created Brown Girl Book Lover, a social media platform where she interviews diverse writers and reviews books that should be at the forefront of our imagination. She also produces a monthly newsletter, Come Get Your Diversity. Murray is currently working on her first novel, This Has Made Us Beautiful. Murray has been published in Poets & Writers, Zone 3, Ploughshares, Brittle Paper, Obsidian Literary Magazine, and Salamander Literary Magazine.

Mateo Askaripour burst onto the literary scene with his 2021 debut, Black Buck, an instant New York Times bestseller and a Today Show “Read With Jenna” pick. Praised as "irresistible" by the Washington Post and "darkly comic" by NPR, it earned Mateo recognition as a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 author and was a finalist for several prestigious awards. His sophomore novel, This Great Hemisphere, shifts to speculative fiction, exploring themes of prejudice and social constructs in a divided future. Inspired by his own experiences, Mateo's novel centers on an Invisible woman seeking her brother amidst political turmoil.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and was a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and We Cast a Shadow, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN Open Book Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and International Dublin Literary Award. A recipient of an Iowa Review Award in fiction, he has been published in the Virginia Quarterly Review, AGNI, the Kenyon Review, The Massachusetts Review, and Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas.

Merle Collins is a renowned Grenadian writer, poet, and academic, celebrated for her rich contributions to Caribbean literature. Collins is known for her powerful narratives exploring themes of history, identity, and social justice. Her notable works include Angel, a novel that chronicles Grenada’s revolutionary period, and Rain Darling, a poetry collection reflecting on Caribbean life. Her latest work, Ocean Stirrings is a mix of fictive narrative, letters and poetry, telling the story of Louse Little, The mother of the revolutionary firebrand Malcolm X. Collins continues to inspire through her writing and teaching at the University of Maryland

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah debut collection, Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. His first novel Chain-Gang All-Stars was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Books Are My Bag Awards, and selected as a New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year. Adjei-Brenyah is a National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ honoree.

Nathalie Frédéric Pierre is a proud alum of the History and English departments of Howard University, where she is currently an Assistant Professor of History. Last year, she was a 2023 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow working on the completion of her first book. Titled, "Vessel of Independence," it is about Haiti's political imagination in an Atlantic world financed by chattel slavery. She earned her PhD in the history of the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and Latin America from New York University.  She was the on-site committee chairwoman of the 34th annual Haitian Studies Association Conference held here at Howard University in 2022.  Professor Pierre's most recent publication, "Haiti's Blueprints for Black Sovereignty," reflected on 220 years of Haitian independence.

Nina Angela Mercer is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural worker based in Washington, D.C. Her plays have been performed at venues like The Woolly Mammoth, Nuyorican Poets Café, and the Schomburg Center. She has collaborated with Urban Bush Women and contributed to multiple anthologies, including Black Girl Magic and Are You Entertained?. She co-founded Ocean Ana Rising, Inc., which is supported by NEA and The Black Seed.

Nova Johnson is a writer, poet, and filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois, currently majoring in Media, Journalism, and Film at Howard University. Her writing talent was first recognized when she won state and national titles in the Letters About Literature contest. In high school, she excelled as a spoken word poet and Speech & Acting team captain, placing 9th at the state level. At UCLA, she completed a screenwriting program, further developing her craft. Now in her second year at Howard, Nova balances a 3.9 GPA with content creation and internships, aspiring to become a full-time screenwriter focused on diverse storytelling.

Olivia Ocran is a sophomore English major with an intended secondary education minor at Howard University, from Cary, North Carolina. She began her writing career during the 2020 pandemic, by self-publishing her debut novel, The Darkest Side of a Star, just before her senior year of high school in 2022. The sequel, The Spark Drowned in the Night, followed in 2023. Olivia's works explore the political climate and race-based violence in the U.S., aiming to provide representation for marginalized communities.

Psalmayene 24 (Gregory Morrison) is an award-winning playwright, director, and actor, currently serving as The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at Mosaic Theater. Known as "Psalm" by his colleagues, he wrote and directed The Blackest Battle (Theater Alliance) and the film The Freewheelin' Insurgents (Arena Stage). His directing credits include Flow (Studio Theatre), Necessary Sacrifices: A Radio Play (Ford's Theatre), and Pass Over (Studio Theatre). Psalm won five Helen Hayes Awards for Word Becomes Flesh and currently hosts “Psalm’s Salon at Studio,” produced by Studio Theatre.

Rebbie Davis is the President of the Howard University Writers Guild, where she leads efforts to foster creative expression and promote student publications. A prolific writer, she has penned numerous argumentative essays and creative pieces, while also spearheading research groups for academic papers on Howard’s campus. Before attending Howard, Rebbie was honored with the prestigious Dr. Maurine Stein Excellence in Humanities award, recognizing her outstanding contributions to the field.

Dr. Salamishah Tillet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, scholar, and activist. She received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for her work as a contributing critic at large for The New York Times. Tillet is the author of In Search of the Color Purple and Sites of Slavery. She co-hosted the award-winning podcast “Because of Anita” and received the 2020 Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction fellowship for her upcoming book, All The Rage: Nina Simone and The World She Made. The Henry Rutgers Professor of Africana Studies and Creative Writing at Rutgers University, Tillet also co-founded A Long Walk Home, an arts organization to end violence against girls and women. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Harvard.

SATE (to satisfy fully) is a Toronto-based vocalist and songwriter known for her electrifying fusion of hard rock and gritty blues. Her live performances, praised by NOW Magazine for their "tornado of a stage presence," captivate audiences with their raw energy and emotional depth. SATE’s upcoming album, The Fool, delves into Tarot themes, combining catchy melodies with soulful wails and relentless grooves. A daughter of blues and jazz pioneer Salome Bey, SATE integrates her musical heritage with punk and hard rock influences. Her dynamic sound and powerful stage presence promise to leave audiences thoroughly sated.

Soyica Diggs Colbert is the Idol Family Professor of Black Studies and Performing Arts at Georgetown University. A Guggenheim Fellow, Colbert is renowned for her award-winning biography, Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry, praised by The New York Times for its detailed portrayal of Hansberry's art and activism. Her extensive fellowships include the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation. Colbert's writing has appeared in major publications, and she has been featured on NPR and in various media outlets. She also serves as Associate Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company and curates exhibitions, including the recent “Art is Energy” at BAM.

Tammy L. Brown teaches African diaspora studies and 20th-century American history at Howard University. Her first book, City of Islands: Caribbean Intellectuals in New York(2015), explores Caribbean intellectuals' impact on New York's history and racial equality. Her current project is a biography of Jimi Hendrix focusing on the spiritual aspects of his music. Brown’s work on race, feminism, and art has appeared in TEDx, NPR, and Vox.com. She has received several awards, including the Heanon Wilkins Faculty Fellowship and a research grant from the Gilder Lehrman Institute.

Tony Medina is a Professor of Creative Writing at Howard University. Medina is the author or editor of 17 books for adults and young readers, such as I and I, Bob Marley and The President Looks Like Me & Other Poems. His work has garnered awards including the Paterson Prize and the Rhode Island Children's Book Award. Medina has also edited several anthologies, including In Defense of Mumia and Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam. His poetry and prose appear in over 100 publications and multiple CD compilations. He has been recognized with the Langston Hughes Society Award and the African Voices Literary Award and was a finalist for the Julie Suk Award for Broke Baroque.

Yasmin El-Rifae is a writer, editor, and coproducer of The Palestine Festival of Literature. She writes essays, criticism, and reportage, with her most recent work appearing in The New York Review of Books and Parapraxis Magazine. She is the author of Radius, a history of a militant Egyptian feminist movement, published by Verso in 2022.

Zandria F. Robinson is an ethnographer and writer exploring race, gender, sound, and spirit. Her notable books include This Ain’t Chicago, which won the Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Award, and Chocolate Cities, co-authored with Marcus Anthony Hunter, which received the CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Title. Robinson is currently working on Surely You'll Begin the World , an ancestral memoir on grief and afterlife connections. She teaches at Georgetown University, with interests in Black feminist theory, popular culture, and Afro-futurism.