Erik S. McDuffie is a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research and teaching interests include the African diaspora, the Midwest, black feminism, black queer theory, black radicalism, urban history, and black masculinity. He is the author of Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011). The book won the 2012 Wesley-Logan Prize from the American Historical Association and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, as well as the 2011 Letitia Woods Brown Award from the Association of Black Women Historians. He is also the author of several scholarly articles and essays published in African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal; African Identities; American Communist History; Biography; Journal of African American History; Journal of West African History; Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International Women of Color; Radical History Review; Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society; Women, Families, and Children of Color among other journals and edited volumes. His most recent book is The Second Battle for Africa: Garveyism, the US Heartland, and Global Black Freedom.

Anna Malaika Tubbs is a bestselling storyteller who grew up in Dubai, Mexico, Sweden, Estonia, Azerbaijan, as well as the United States. Influenced by her exposure to all kinds of cultures and beliefs, Anna is inspired to bring people together through the celebration of difference. Motivated by her mother’s work advocating for women’s and children’s rights around the world, Anna uses an intersectional lens to advocate for women of color and educate others in all of her projects. Anna holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and a Masters in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies in addition to a Bachelors in Medical Anthropology. Her focus is on addressing gender and race issues in the U.S., especially the pervasive erasure of Black women.

Anna has published articles on topics ranging from celebrating motherhood to addressing the forced sterilization of Black women as well as the importance of feminism, intersectionality, and inclusivity. Her first book, titled The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, was published by Flatiron Books in February of 2021. Anna is a highly sought-after speaker who travels across the world on her mission to engage more audiences in conversations about race and gender. Her TED Talk “How Moms Shape the World” has amassed 2 million views.

Patrick Parr is the author of three books, most recently “Malcolm Before X,” which Kirkus Reviews praised as being “the definitive story of Malcolm’s youth and early adulthood.” He is also the author of One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation and The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age. Parr’s work has appeared in The American Prospect, Japan Today and The Atlantic, among others. He lives with his wife near Tokyo and teaches writing at Lakeland University Japan.

Najha Zigbi-Johnson is an independent writer, educator and cultural curator. Her work explores the intersections of the built environment, contemporary art, and social-movement history. She currently teaches at The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York, and was formerly the Director of Institutional Advancement at The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Her work has been published by The Cut, New York Magazine, ARTnews, Artforum, Volume Gallery and more. Najha holds a BS and MTS in African and African American comparative religious histories from Guilford College and Harvard Divinity School. She was also a 2021–2022 Community Fellow at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University. Najha was raised in and currently resides in Harlem.