Photograph by Robert Stewart
Photograph by Boston Photography
Photograph by A.B. Johnson, courtesy 231 Media
Courtesy Keesha Morrison
Lonnie G. Bunch III
is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and first historian to be Secretary of the Institution. He oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. He received France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor, in 2021.
Johnnetta Betsch Cole
is the author and editor of numerous books, president emerita of Spelman and Bennett Colleges, director emerita of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, and former chair and president of the National Council of Negro Women.
Magdalene Johnson Obaji
is the president and chief executive officer of NIS Solutions Corp., a woman-owned information technology services and management consulting company. Obaji has been a member of the advisory board of the National Museum of African Art since 2012, serving in a variety of capacities, including cochair (2016–19) and chair (2019–23).
Celeste Watkins-Hayes
coedited Speechifying and is the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, and professor of sociology at the University of Michigan.
