Orlando Watson

Orlando Watson

Orlando Watson Poet, Festival Director    Orlando Watson is an emerging poet, voiceover artist, and festival director from Cleveland, Ohio who has masterfully curated and managed six national festivals and nine premier arts programs between Ohio and Pennsylvania,...
Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell Writer, Activist  Kevin Powell is one of the most celebrated political, cultural, literary, and hip-hop voices in America. He is a prolific writer and a GRAMMY-nominated poet; Kevin is a heavily sought-after public speaker who has lectured in all 50...
Damon Young

Damon Young

Damon Young Author Pittsburgh writer Damon Young’s debut memoir, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir In Essays (Ecco/HarperCollins), won the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Barnes & Noble’s Discover Award. Damon is also a founder of...
Vanessa K. Valdés

Vanessa K. Valdés

Vanessa K. Valdés Author, Historian  Dr. Vanessa K. Valdés is a cultural critic and historian whose work focuses on the literatures, visual arts, performances, and histories of Black peoples throughout the Western hemisphere. An engaging speaker, she served as a...
Shay-Akil McLean

Shay-Akil McLean

Shay-Akil McLean Writer, Biologist  @Hood_Biologist Dr. McLean is a writer, educator, independent research scientist, public scholar and thought  leader studying the relationships between human biology, racism, and health inequities. Dr.  McLean is a trained...