Concerned Black Men Of America

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Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues, and soul, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles by Scott-Heron. His own term for himself was "bluesologist", which he defined as "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues".His poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music.

Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was a writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, le***an, mother, warrior, poet," who "dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia."

Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the Negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue.

Toni Morrison (February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019) was a novelist and poet. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.

Nikki Giovanni (born June 7, 1943) is a poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she has been named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends".

Serena Williams (born September 26, 1981)is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked singles world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks, including a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time.

Michelle Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is the wife of former President Barack Obama.

Avye Couloute (born in 2008) is a maker, coder, Tech Advocate, workshop leader and Social Entrepreneur. She began attending coding & physical computing workshops at 7. Nowadays she is very active in the tech & maker community, dedicating a lot of her spare time to exploring & learning about coding & technology.Aware of female under-representation in STEM education & careers, Avye was motivated to found Girls Into Coding to encourage more girl involvement in tech, to offer them the opportunity to develop their digital and making skills. She has received the Diana Award, the Diana Legacy Award and the FDM EveryWoman Tech Award in the “One To Watch” category for her work to create opportunities for girls to engage with tech and for fundraising to provide girls with microcontrollers, physical computing kits & STEM themed books.

Maggie Walker (1864 –1934) was an African American businesswoman and teacher. At the turn of the century, Walker was one of the foremost female business leaders in the United States. In 1903, Walker became both the first African American woman to charter a bank and the first African American woman to serve as a bank president. Walker’s entrepreneurial skills transformed black business practices while also inspiring other women to enter the field. As a leader, Walker achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans.

Dr. Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an American scientist and inventor of illusion transmitting technology. Her work and leadership led to the development of Landsat technology which revolutionized studying Earth from space. She also facilitated LACIE, a crop monitoring project.