Featured Speakers and Performers

Majora Carter was born and raised in the South Bronx and remains committed to the sustainability of the community. In 2001, she founded a non-profit environmental organization, Sustainable South Bronx, dedicated to community rejuvenation, both environmental and economic. From 2001 to 2008, she served as Executive Director of the non-profit organization where she pioneered green-collar job training and placement systems in one of the most environmentally and economically challenged parts of the US. Majora Carter has received many honors including a MacArthur “Genius” Award (2005) and Essence Magazine’s 25 Most Influential African Americans (2007). This MacArthur "genius" is now president of her own economic consulting firm, a co-host on Sundance Channel's “The Green,” and host of a new special public radio series called, “The Promised Land” (thepromisedland.org).

Invincible, Hiphop Artist-Activist
http://www.myspace.com/invincilana

Invincible is the rare combination of artist activist, without sacrificing either descriptor she is both adept at lyrical wordplay and community activism, her active involvement in progressive social change has taken her music beyond entertainment. Hailing from Detroit, MI by way of Israel, Invincible has already established herself working with well-known artists such as Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and the all-female ANOMOLIES crew. XXL Magazine named her one of the best independent artists in Hiphop. Invincible’s music covers issues related to self and community transformation, media monopoly, love/hate relationships, gentrification, faith, and beyond.

Affrilachian Poets
www.AffrilachianPoets.com

Founded in 1991, “the Affrilachian Poets are an ensemble of African-American writers [who] challenge simple notions of an all white Appalachian region and culture while drawing on traditions such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and experiences of the African Diaspora. The poetry of the Affrilachian Poets celebrates their African heritage and rural roots while encompassing themes of racism and Black identity (“Coal Black Voices,” n.d.). Mitchell Douglas, Ricardo Nazario y Colón, Bianca Spriggs-Floyd, and Frank X Walker.