Diversity Speakers $5000 and Under

MacArthur Fellow Lateefah Simon is part of a new wave of African American civil rights and community leaders. She is the Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Ms. Simon has advocated tirelessly on behalf of communities of color, youth and women since her teenage years.  She made O Magazine's first ever Power List in 2009 and was recognized with a Lifetime TV Remarkable Women Award.

Rinku Sen is the President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and Publisher of Colorlines magazine.  She weaves together journalism with her extensive experience in community organizing to further social change.  Sen has written extensively about immigration, community organizing and women's lives for a wide variety of publications.  Her latest book, "The Accidental American:  Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization" won the Nautilus Book Award Silver Medal.

"Dynamic", "heartwarming" and "soulful" are words often used to describe Lucas' portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His uncanny resemblance to King is breathtaking, and his performance consistently brings standing ovations and a deeper appreciation of King's life, work and vision.

How does a child who was both a victim and survivor of the Cambodian genocide grow to become an internationally recognized human rights leader? Subject of the documentary The Flute Player and a founder of Children of War, an international youth leadership organization for building community, activism and healing for teenagers, Chorn-Pond opens our eyes and hearts, and helps us to heal.

Named the #1 new Latino author watch in 2010 by LatinoStores.com, Carolina De Robertis is the author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling novel "The Invisible Mountain," which was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and O, The Oprah Magazine.

In the debate about immigration, we often forget the human side of the story. Enrique Morones is determined to help us remember. The founder of Border Angels, a humanitarian organization which provides support and relief to migrant workers on the US-Mexican border, he wants Americans to know the truth about the people behind the immigration policy debates, both migrants and the vigilante Minutemen.

June Cross follows news coverage and cultural thinking about race, sex, Hollywood, and politics. She is an Associate Professor at Columbia Journalism School, a writer, and an award-winning producer. Her first book, a memoir titled “Secret Daughter,” (based on an Emmy-winning documentary) was published by Viking in May 2006. She has worked for PBS’s Frontline and The Newshour, as well as for CBS News. Her most recent documentary, The Old Man and the Storm, followed three generations of a New Orleans family as they struggled to return to normal lives. It aired on PBS’ FRONTLINE in January 2009.

From the rise of Islamic insurgency groups and the promise of democracy, to the myths and realities of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and Asia, author and scholar Hassan Abbas gives an insider view as a former senior security officer in the Pakistan government. He is a frequent media commentator on terrorism and radical Islam in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other nations in south and central Asia.

Chan stars in the one woman play "Unbinding Our Lives" which shatters the exotic, subservient, “China doll” image.  In this powerful show Ms. Chan portrays three real Chinese American women from China in the 1800's and their personal stories of being sold into child slavery, prostitution, and abandonment.  An unforgettable look at forgotten history.

An award winning journalist and former Washington Post reporter, Patrice Gaines works to empower girls and young women at risk, drawing from the heart of her experiences on the streets and in prison. She is the co-founder of Brown Angel Center, seeking to provide formerly incarcerated women and their families with the tools to renew their lives. Gaines is author of "Laughing in the Dark" and "Moments of Grace: Meeting the Challenge to Change."

A leading organizer in the Chinese student democracy movement, he is among forty-nine individuals blacklisted by the Beijing government. As research fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and President of The Foundation For China In The 21st Century, he continues to provide a forceful and unique perspective on this historic struggle. Jianli Yang, returned to his adopted home in 2007 in the United States after five years in Chinese prisons.

Abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth's life is told in her own words using her speeches and songs in this dramatic presentation by Kathryn Woods.  Born a slave, Isabella Baumfree walked away from slavery to become an evangelist, when she wasn't being a maid or laundress.  In her travels she met preachers and advocates of all sorts, and evolved into Sojourner Truth.

Born in Beijing, educated in the West, Jianying Zha brings unique insight into the rapidly changing political and cultural landscape in China.

Journalist and author of “In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive,” which was turned into an award-winning play. Latty is also the author of the critically acclaimed “We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq.”

In 1859, abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass was being sought by the state of Virginia with an arrest warrant for his alleged activity in the armed assault on the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry.  This historical moment beset with national and personal drama is the setting for “Frederick Douglass, 1859”. Guy Peartree renders Frederick Douglass with sensitivity to the historic and folkloric features of this period.

Fierce, outspoken Haitian-American musician Richard Auguste Morse is known throughout Haiti for giving voice to political injustice. When the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti it was Richard reporting from the ground, using Twitter, giving the world an up-to-the -minute story. His powerful words and observations have been picked up by major news bureaus around the world

Suzan Shown Harjo is a poet, journalist and activist for Native American rights and culture. She is president of The Morning Star Institute, a non-profit cultural rights and arts advocacy group; served on the Native American Policy Committee for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and as an Advisor to the Transition in 2008-2009; and Harjo is currently the Guest Curator and General Editor for the National Museum of the American Indian’s upcoming exhibit and publication on Treaties.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay is an activist, writer and technologist based in Brooklyn, NY. She has written and spoken extensively on race, media, technology and gender, with a specific focus on the intersection of race and gender, whether in popular culture or politics. She is the technology director at the Center for Media Justice an Oakland based org that provides media strategy and action for justice based grass-roots organizing groups and was recently named Executive Editor of Feministing.com.