Black History Month (U)

<p>Mike Africa, Jr. is a member of The MOVE Organization. He is a conscious hip hop artist and a motivational resilience speaker. He pushes his revolutionary message with his dynamic stage performances mixing music with speeches.</p><p>Mike is the son of 2 political prisoners who were sentenced to 100 years in prison. Mike was secretly born in a Philadelphia prison following a police raid on his family’s home. As an infant, he was taken from his mother and placed in an orphanage where he was physically and mentally abused.

<p>LaTosha is a contributor to <i>The New York Times</i> op-ed page and a Senior Practice Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. As co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund organization, LaTosha is dedicated to increasing the political power of Black people.</p><p>The Black Voters Matter Fund was credited with energizing and turning out voters in Alabama’s Black Belt and playing a decisive role in Doug Jones’ election to the U.S.

<p>Award-winning financial journalist, behavior expert and author, Stacey Tisdale, discusses the new realities of the post Covid-19 economy helping audiences navigate the financial and psychological challenges that so many are facing, due to factors such as job and income loss, loss of healthcare coverage, financial stress, and the gender and racial inequalities the virus is amplifying. </p><p>When she was a journalist with Wall Street Journal Television, Stacey became one of the first women—and the first African American—to report from the New York Stock Exchange.

<p>Majora Carter is a real estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant, and a MacArthur Fellow and Peabody Award winning broadcaster.

<p>Ice-T not only invented gangster rap, he lived it. He is the embodiment of LA Hip-Hop, an actor, and a cultural icon. </p>

<p>Through his music, his books, and his lecture tours of America’s prisons, high schools, libraries, and colleges (including Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford), Ice-T has become an influential spokesman for America’s youth, regardless of color. </p>

<p>Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is an Ohio born writer and lecturer. Her activist and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood. </p><p>Her content continues to launch meaningful conversation amongst her community of over 230k followers on IG. In addition to her talk on the TEDx stage, her public lecture Unpacking White Feminism has been featured on campuses around the country including American University, Yale, and Harvard.

<p>Born and raised in Detroit, Demetrius taught himself graphic design in 3rd grade. By the time he reached 7th grade, he had used those skills to start a clothing brand that would eventually become his current clothing brand, "You Matter by Demetrius Harmon." </p><p>In 9th grade he started posting YouTube videos as a way to cope with a change of schools.

<p>Respected internationally as a strategic thinker, inspirational speaker and consummate professional, Jesse J. Holland offers more than 20 years of public success as a nationally known political journalist,</p>

<p>African American historian and creative writing consultant. </p>

<p>Richie Reseda is a music, film and content producer, who was freed from prison in 2018.</p><p>He co-created and co-hosts the Spotify Original podcast “Abolition X.” While in prison he started Question Culture, the independent media collective that houses his projects, and cofounded Success Stories, the feminist program for incarcerated men chronicled in the CNN documentary, "The Feminist on Cell Block Y."</p>

<p>The Black and Latina daughter of a working-class family, Victoria Pratt learned to treat everyone with dignity, no matter their background. When she became Newark Municipal Court’s chief judge, she knew well the inequities that poor, mentally ill, Black, and brown people faced in the criminal justice system.</p><p>Judge Victoria has gained national and international acclaim for her commitment to reform the criminal justice system.