Laban Carrick Hill was the author of more than thirty books, including the 2004 National Book Award Finalist Harlem Stomp!, which he researched for nearly a decade, and America Dreaming, which examines the legacy of the 1960s. He taught writing at Columbia University, Baruch College, St. Michael's College and Pine Manor College in Massachusetts. He was also the cofounder and codirector of the Writers Project of Ghana, based in the US and Ghana. He passed away in 2021.

Acclaimed poet, essayist, and lecturer Nikki Giovanni has many published collections of her poetry, including Black Feeling, Black Talk and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not-Quite Poems. Her honors include the NAACP Image Award for Literature in 1998, and the Langston Hughes award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters in 1996.