From today’s most prominent activists to Civil Rights icons, our motivational black speakers celebrate the evolution of African-American race relations and diversity, as well as the ongoing battle for black female empowerment.
Damon Davis
<p>Damon Davis brings a powerful blend of social commentary and art therapy to audiences to help heal divisions, empower the powerless, and illuminate issues of race and class in society. </p>
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
<p>Named one of the 150 most powerful African Americans by <i>Ebony</i> magazine, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, an American Book Award recipient and two-time NAACP Image Award winner, “is reshaping what it means to be a public intellectual by becoming the most visible black academic of his time.” </p><p>Dr.
Angela Rye
<p>Angela Rye delivers thoughtful yet incisive commentary and real talk about the power of activism, advocacy, and politics, and stokes much-needed conversation about the state of America.</p><p>Politico, lawyer, and self-described empowermenteur, Angela Rye is one of America’s most influential voices for positive change in the political process. As the principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, she advocates for economic empowerment, civic engagement, and political involvement among young professionals.
Damon Young
<p>Damon Young is a writer, critic, and satirist.
Tara Setmayer
<p>Tara Setmayer is a former CNN political commentator, contributor to ABC News, and former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She is currently a Senior Advisor with the Lincoln Project. </p><p>She has appeared on ABC's <em>The View</em>, ABC’s <em>Good Morning America</em>, and on HBO's <em>Real Time with Bill Maher</em>. On January 9, 2020, Setmayer was named as a Harvard Institute of Politics Spring 2020 Resident Fellow.
Dr. Frank Leon Roberts
<p>Dr. Frank Leon Roberts is an activist, professor, and political organizer based in Harlem, New York. The proud son of two formerly incarcerated parents, he is currently an Assistant Professor at Amherst College.</p><p>Roberts is the founder of Black Lives Matter Syllabus—the nationally acclaimed, open access curriculum that provides resources for teaching BLM in classroom and community settings.
April Reign
<p>As the creator of the viral hashtag-turned-movement, #OscarsSoWhite , April Reign has been challenging the lack of representation of marginalized communities in Hollywood and beyond since 2015. </p><p>April practiced law for nearly twenty years, honing her talent for public speaking, persuasive writing and effecting policy change, but it wasn’t until she walked away from her legal practice that she found her true passion.
Keith Boykin
Keith Boykin is a national political commentator, TV and film producer, New York Times best-selling author, and a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. His latest books are Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America (2021), Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of Freedom (2022) and Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race? (2024).
Soledad O'Brien
<p>Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, philanthropist, and founder of Soledad O’Brien Productions, a media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues. She anchors and produces "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien," a <em>Hearst political magazine </em>program seen in 95% of the country.
Jeff Johnson
<p>Jeff is a teller of stories, developer of messages, and architect of social solutions who’s as comfortable in front of the camera as he is behind the scenes developing strategy and messages for his clients. </p>