The inspiring night of excellence will feature exciting musical performances, unprecedented collaborations, and surprise appearances.
Dr. Ala Stanford, a practicing physician for over 20 years, is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in both pediatric and adult general surgery and a health care advocate. She is the Founder of The Black Doctors COVID19 Consortium, BDCC. The consortium was formed in response to the disproportionate number of African-Americans being diagnosed and dying […]
A Jazmine Sullivan record can go down like a shot of cognac—spicy, yet full-bodied and smooth as butter—or it can swathe you in the warmest embrace like your favorite pashmina. It’s why we fell in love with her a dozen years ago when she first burst on the scene with fiery records about the push […]
Robin Rue Simmons is a strategist, civic entrepreneur and alderman of Evanston’s 5th Ward. Ald. Rue Simmons began her career 22 years ago when she launched her first business as a real estate broker. Troubled by the wealth disparities and concentrated poverty in urban communities, she wanted to help young adults build wealth early through homeownership. […]
GRAMMY® and multiple Stellar Award-winning artist Le’Andria Johnson is hailed for her brilliant vocal gifts and artistic interpretation, with her powerhouse performances and inspiring story leading her to winning the BET competition “Sunday Best” in the show’s third season (2010), and becoming the first “Sunday Best” winner to win a GRAMMY® Award, less than two […]
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and creator of the landmark 1619 Project. In 2017, she received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, known as the Genius Grant, for her work on educational inequality. She has also won a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, three National Magazine Awards, and the […]
Over the course of a journalistic career that has seen him interview multiple U.S. presidents to the top athletes and entertainers in Hollywood, Roland S. Martin is a journalist who has always maintained a clear sense of his calling in this world. Martin is the host and managing editor of #RolandMartinUnfiltered, the first daily online […]
Some people have a calling that is undeniable and Avery*Sunshine is no exception. Yet the former church pianist/musical director, who scored a #1 Billboard chart hit, was at once a reluctant warrior. “I had no idea that my work in the church would prepare me to do what I do.” Bringing people together through her […]
Stacey Abrams is the New York Times bestselling author of Our Time Is Now and Lead from the Outside, an entrepreneur and a political leader. She served as Democratic Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives for seven years prior to running for Governor of Georgia, winning, at the time, more votes than any other Democrat in the […]
Erica Campbell has released two solo albums as well as seven albums with her sister as part of the dynamic duo “Mary Mary.” Campbell has received numerous awards and accolades. Her debut solo album “Help” won a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album as well as eight Stellar Awards. Campbell is the host of […]