Civil Rights 2.0 - What is New and What We Can Learn From The Archives?

Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an award-winning journalist with more than 50 years in the industry, extending her work at various times to all media. After completing college Hunter-Gault went on to a successful career in journalism, which she began working for The New Yorker. After The New Yorker, she was an investigative reporter and local news anchor in Washington, D.C., and then worked for the New York Times for 10 years. She worked for 20 years at PBS and was a national correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1997 to work for National Public Radio as chief correspondent in Africa. In 1999 she joined CNN to work as the Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent. In 2005, she returned to NPR as a Special Correspondent. Over the years, she has been the recipient of numerous other awards for her work and in August, 2005, she was inducted in the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and in 2015 was inducted in 2015 was inducted into the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame.

Rashad Robinson is President of Color Of Change, a leading online racial justice organization. Driven by 7 million members working to build political and cultural power for Black communities, Color Of Change is creating a more human and less hostile world for all people in America. Previously, Rashad served as Senior Director of Media Programs at GLAAD, leading all of the organization’s advocacy, strategic research, messaging and large-scale media campaigns. These winning culture change and narrative change initiatives helped transform the media landscape, successfully paving the way for broad acceptance and justice for LGBTQ people. Rashad has been recognized as someone to watch by the Ebony Power 100, The Root 100 and Crain’s New York Business 40 under 40. He is the proud recipient of awards from organizations as varied as ADCOLOR, the United Church of Christ and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation. Rashad serves on the board of the Hazen Foundation.

Lateefah Simon is a nationally recognized advocate for civil rights and racial justice in Oakland and the Bay Area. She has been the President of Akonadi Foundation since 2016. That same year—driven by the death of Oscar Grant—she was elected to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors; she now serves as President. Lateefah is also a member of California State University’s Board of Trustees, and state officials often turn to her for strategic advice on policy matters related to racial justice. Lateefah received the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award in 2003—making her at the time the youngest women to receive the award —in recognition of her work as Executive Director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center. Lateefah’s other numerous awards include the California State Assembly’s “Woman of the Year”; The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “40 Under 40: Young Leaders Who Are Solving the Problems of Today and Tomorrow”; the Jefferson Award for Extraordinary Public Service, and Inside Philanthropy’s “Most Promising New Foundation President.”

Derrick Johnson serves as President and CEO of the NAACP, a title he has held since October of 2017. Johnson formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, as well as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. A longstanding member and leader of the NAACP, Johnson has helped guide the Association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration. Johnson also continues to be on the frontlines on some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, calling out Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for his use of Blackface, condemning the burning of Black churches in Tennessee and Louisiana, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to Attorney General William Barr’s nomination, and overseeing the NAACP’s vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump at the 110th National Convention in Detroit. Johnson attended Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS and received his JD from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX. He has also furthered his training through fellowships with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the George Washington University School of Political Management, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served as an annual guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, lending his expertise to Professor Lani Guinier’s course on social movements, and as an adjunct professor at Tougaloo College. Johnson is frequently featured on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and many others, advocating on behalf of the Black community and all those who are affected by systemic oppression and prejudice.