Ernest Owens

Communication & Public Service scholar, University of Pennsylvania

Unlike many rappers in hip-hop who are obvious industry pinheads just trying to cash into the bank, Kanye West knows more. Yet, that is perhaps the very problem: he knows more and yet does nothing to actually fix the problem.

John Starks

Former NBA All-Star, New York Knicks Alumni Relations and Fan Development Advisor

Growing up in Tulsa, my dream was to play in the NBA. I am fortunate to have been able to achieve my dream, and now helping other kids follow their dreams has proven to be just as impactful on my life as every minute that I played in the NBA.

Nicolas B. Aziz

Manchester Business School Student

President Obama impeccably and eloquently made the connection between the role Morehouse has played in shaping today's world and the role it will play in shaping the future.

David Protess

President, Chicago Innocence Project

Truth be told, slurs are common around the water cooler, reflecting a dehumanizing view of criminal defendants that comes from years of locking them up, one person of color at a time.

Angela Onwuachi-Willig

Charles and Marion Kierscht Professor, University of Iowa College of Law

After my sister died from breast cancer three years ago, I asked, during my mammogram, whether I should get tested for the breast cancer gene. I was warned that doing so, particularly if I tested positive for the gene, could mark me as an individual with a so-called pre-existing condition.

Earl Martin Phalen

CEO and Founder, Phalen Leadership Academies and Summer Advantage USA

I'm honored Andrea Morehead could share some advice for other busy moms and her thoughts on early education.

Jarrett L. Carter

Founding Editor, HBCUDigest.com

Barack Obama visited Morehouse College on Sunday to give a refrain on the responsibility of Morehouse Men and black America to find dignity and progress in self-reliance, a refrain that has simultaneously proven exciting and excruciating for African Americans over the last four years.

Crystal Cheatham

Executive Director, IDentity Kit Project

I'd believed that I was headed for greatness, but they had revealed in me a thing that was seemingly so dirty, so disgusting that my other talents paled in comparison to the supposed vileness of being a practicing homosexual. And for this they bullied me right out of the church.

Andrew Jenks

Award-winning filmmaker

I was a 25-year-old documentary filmmaker from New York working on a show for MTV. He was a 21-year-old dancer in East Oakland trying to move on with his life after the murder of his little brother. I spent a year embedded in his life, and got a front row seat to an American epidemic.

Richard Bloch

Former Chief Deputy District Attorney, Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office

Something is clearly wrong with our state when all the death sentences are coming out of one county. We are in a crisis when our state, which is 4.3 percent African-American, has a death row that is 100 percent African American. A broken system has produced flawed results.

Mikah Meyer

Countertenor singer; author, ‘Life’s More Fun When You Talk to Strangers’

I ask you, fans across America and around the world, to root for Memphis -- both the Grizzlies team and the city. Maybe a Grizzlies championship can provide just the "grits" this Southern city needs.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Author and political analyst

there's the almost ritual expectation by the public that second term presidents will be dogged by some scandal. This was the case with Eisenhower, Nixon, of course, Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. This shouldn't surprise.

Tarice L.S. Gray

Freelance journalist

The loneliness of that realization, that my daughter might have to shoulder the consequences of these stigmas, made me heartsick. I'd made myself believe she would only be challenged by her race and gender, not the basic ability to speak her mind.

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

On this 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Children's Crusade it is a time to remember, honor, and follow the example of the children who were frontline soldiers and transforming catalysts in America's greatest moral movement of the 20th century.

Benjamin Todd Jealous

President and CEO, NAACP

There is no way to make up for decades of discrimination that crippled the proud history of black farm ownership in this country. But we can do our best to move forward.

Fire

Singer

The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have one. In order to rid oneself of addiction, one must declare it. My name is Fire Burgess and I am a diehard fan of misogynistic Rap music.

Asa Craig

Research and policy analyst, Laura and John Arnold Foundation

How do we expect our communities and economies to thrive when our young boys and girls are not receiving the education and training that is needed to enter the workforce?