IDENTITY & INCLUSION

Faylita Hicks (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latinx writer, spoken word artist, and cultural strategist. With an appreciation for powerful narratives that lead to cultural shifts and community safety, Hicks works with justice-focused nonprofits, arts and literary organizations, and performance venues throughout the US to actively engage in anti-carceral liberation efforts through dynamic storytelling. Hicks is also the author of the critically-acclaimed debut poetry collection HoodWitch, a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award.

Hafizah Augustus Geter is a Nigerian-American poet, writer, and literary agent born in Zaria, Nigeria, and raised in Akron, Ohio, and Columbia, South Carolina. Her debut memoir, The Black Period: On Personhood, Race & Origin, won the 2023 PEN Open Book Award. Hafizah is also the author of the debut poetry collection Un-American, nominated for a 2021 NAACP Image Award, a finalist for the 2021 PEN Open Book Award, and longlisted for the 2021 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize.

Anthony R. Keith, Jr., Ph.D. (Tony) is a Black, gay spoken word artist, poet, and Hip-Hop educator. His debut, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet, is a powerful YA memoir in verse, tracing his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds freedom in poetry.

Kristen Arnett is the author of With Teeth: A Novel (Riverhead Books, 2021) and the NYT bestselling debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction. She is a queer fiction and essay writer.

Born in Harlem to Dominican parents, Raquel is an award-winning journalist, cultural activist, podcaster, and documentary filmmaker who travels widely to speak to diverse audiences about Latina identity, social justice, gentrification and inequality.

Author of Night in the American Village, Akemi strives to advance racial equity, social justice, and human rights in her writing and work. She is an educator at the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, where she teaches the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans and promotes the importance of remembering this history.

Omkari L. Williams has worked as an actor, political consultant, and coach. Though she has an affinity for supporting activists who identify as introverted or highly sensitive, as she does, she welcomes all people into the world of micro activism, a sustainable path to changemaking. As a queer Black woman, she shares her own story of challenging injustice to empower others in making a difference in their communities.

Priya Huq is a Bangladeshi Texan cartoonist living in New York who speaks widely on issues related to the comics industry, art, race, culture, identity and their intersections. Her appearances include the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Emerald City Comic Con, and New York Comic Con. In her talks, Priya focuses on practical advice for marginalized artists and cartoonists.

Britt Hawthorne (they/she) is the author of the highly-anticipated, New York Times Bestseller, Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide (Simon Element, 2022). Britt is also an antiracist educator, teacher, speaker, visionary, and advocate committed to raising a generation of antiracist children by centering families of the global majority and fostering equitable learning environments for students and children of all ages and backgrounds.

Tiffany Jewell is a Black biracial writer, twin sister, first generation American, cisgender mama, anti-bias antiracist (ABAR) educator, and consultant. She is the author of the #1 New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller, This Book Is Anti-Racist, a book for young folks and everyone to wake up, take action, and do the work of becoming antiracist.

Layla F. Saad is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of Me and White Supremacy, anti-racism educator, international speaker, and podcast host on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation and social change.

Patricia Engel is the author of, most recently, the story collection The Faraway World. Her novel Infinite Country was an instant New York Times Bestseller and a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read. Infinite Country is the winner of the New American Voices Award, was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Danyel is a New York City-based media creative, television producer, and author. The former editor-in-chief of VIBE and Billboard and now the head of the culture desk at ESPN’s The Undefeated, Danyel is currently at work on Shine Bright, a history of black women in pop music, forthcoming from One World/Random House.