Civil Rights & Social Justice Speakers

Fee: $35,000
Travels From: NY

Fee Range: $17,000–$35,000
Travels From: CA

In both her presentations and her book, So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides audiences of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.

Fee Range: $25,000–$35,000
Travels From: WA

Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in Africa and is the former host of the Emmy® Award-winning “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central. Under Trevor, “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” broke free from the restraints of a 30-minute linear show, producing engaging social content, award-winning digital series, podcasts and more for its global audience.  Last year, “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” landed a record number of seven Emmy Award nominations.

Fee Range: $250,000–$300,000
Travels From: NY

Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, which recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation. He is also the author of many other articles and books on race and education. Previous influential books include Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black–White Achievement Gap and Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right.

Fee Range: $5,000–$14,000
Travels From: DC

• Cleo Wade is a writer, poet, and the New York Times Best-selling author of What The Road Said, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life, and Where To Begin: A Small Book about Your Power to Create Big Change. • Her work speaks to our collective power to create change through self-care, beloved community building, and social justice. • Cleo's beloved TED talk Want to change the world? Start by being brave enough to care has been viewed and shared by millions around the world. • She has been called the poet of her generation by Time Magazine, the Millenial Oprah by New York Magazine, and named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company. • Cleo is the Co-chair of Gucci's Changemakers council and sits on the board of The Lower East Side Girls Club, The National Black Theatre in Harlem, and more. • Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, W Magazine, Vogue Magazine, The Washington Post, The Today Show, and Good Morning America.

Fee Range: $31,000–$50,000
Travels From: CA

• Elaine Welteroth is the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, making her the second African-American in Condé Nast's 107-year history to hold such a title • Welteroth was tapped to become a judge on Bravo's hit series, Project Runway • Her book, More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say), became an instant New York Times bestseller • Her promotion to editor at age 29 made her the youngest in Condé Nast history to become editor • When she became beauty director of Teen Vogue in 2012, Welteroth was the first African-American to serve in the role • She is credited for the notable increase of Teen Vogue coverage of politics and social justice, encouraging readers to become civically engaged, specifically during the 2016 U.S. presidential election •Elaine released her own MasterClass, on designing a dream career by harnessing one’s values, skills, and passions.

Fee Range: $32,000–$60,000
Travels From: NY

Fee Range: $10,000–$12,000
Travels From: CA

As a young athlete, Ibtihaj struggled with the restrictions wearing a hijab imposed on the requisite sport uniforms, until she discovered fencing, where she finally felt she could be true to herself. She went on to attend Duke University, where she was a three-time All-American and the 2005 Junior Olympic Champion. A member of the U.S. National Fencing Team, Ibtihaj jousted her way into the history books at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro wearing her hijab, ultimately helping the women’s fencing team earn the bronze medal. As a stereotype-busting trailblazer and inspirational role model, she is an official sports ambassador, serving on the State Department’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sport Initiative and talking with young women around the world about the importance of sports and education. Drawing from her triumphant journey and unwavering commitment to her authentic self, Ibtihaj inspires others to overcome any obstacle and pave their own unique path to success.

Fee Range: $18,750–$32,000
Travels From: CA

Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of a family of organizations dedicated to the power of WE, a movement of people coming together to change the world. Along with his brother Marc Kielburger, Craig co-founded WE Charity, which provides a holistic development model called WE Villages, helping to lift more than one million people out of poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Back at home in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, WE Schools and W corporate social reponsibilityE Day provide comprehensive service learning programs to 10,000 schools, engaging 2.4 million young change-makers. His work has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes and the BBC. Craig is the youngest ever graduate from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. He has also received 15 honorary doctorates and degrees for his work in the fields of education and human rights. Craig is a New York Times bestselling author, who has published 12 books, as well as a nationally syndicated columnist. Craig has received the Nelson Mandela Freedom Medal and the World Children’s Prize.

Fee Range: $25,000–$30,000
Travels From: Intl

Fee Range: $26,000–$61,000
Travels From: DC

Dr. Cornel West, affectionately known to many as Brother West, is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary. Dr. West teaches on the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as courses in Philosophy of Religion, African American Critical Thought, and a wide range of subjects -- including but by no means limited to, the classics, philosophy, politics, cultural theory, literature, and music. He has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.

Fee Range: $40,000–$75,000
Travels From: CA

Van Jones is the Founder of Dream Corps. He is a social entrepreneur, a CNN political commentator, Emmy Award-winning producer, and a three-time New York Times best-selling author. Jones was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act. Signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Green Jobs Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term "green jobs." A Yale-educated attorney, Jones has won numerous awards, including the World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leader” designation, Rolling Stone’s 2012 “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done”, TIME’s 2009 “100 Most Influential People in The World”, the 2010 NAACP Image Award, a 2017 WEBBY Special Achievement Award, a 2019 Lumiere Award and a 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Interactive Program.

Fee Range: $43,000–$63,000
Travels From: CA

Hill Harper is an award-winning actor, best-selling author and philanthropist. Harper starred on the hit CBS drama CSI: NY, HLN’s How It Really Happened with Hill Harper, Showtime's award-winning series Homeland, and a leading role as Dr. Marcus Andrews on the highly-acclaimed new show The Good Doctor on ABC. In theaters, he can be seen in the movie Concussion and the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me.

Fee Range: $50,000–$94,000
Travels From: WA

Angela Y. Davis is professor emerita of history of consciousness and feminist studies at University of California, Santa Cruz. An activist, writer, and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition, and the related intersections of race, gender, and class. She is the author of many books, from Angela Davis: An Autobiography to Freedom Is a Constant Struggle. Her most recent books are, Abolition.Feminism.Now., written with Gina Dent, Erica Meiners and Beth Richie, and a collection of essays entitled Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol 1.

Fee Range: $30,000–$60,000
Travels From: CA

Ice T not only invented gangster rap, he has lived it. Ice T is the original embodiment of L.A. Hip-Hop. Through his music, his book The Ice Opinion, and his lecture tours of America’s prisons, high schools, and colleges, Ice T has become an influential spokesman for America’s youth. Born in New Jersey, Ice T learned the art of survival pretty fast. An only child whose parents died when he was very young, Ice T became involved in Los Angeles gangs before spending four years in the army. His first break came when the producers of the film Breakin' asked him to rap in the movie. He went on to become rap music's original gangster. Ice T formed Rhyme Syndicate Records in 1989 and released a string of groundbreaking West Coast rap records. He is an accomplished movie actor. Cast if such movies as "New Jack City", "Ricochet" and "Johnny Mnemonic". He also is part of the cast of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit".

Fee Range: $50,000–$125,000
Travels From: NJ

• Iconic environmental activist and consumer advocate • Real-life inspiration for Oscar-Winning film Erin Brockovich • New York Times Bestselling Author • President, Brockovich Research & Consulting

Fee Range: $25,000–$32,000
Travels From: CA

Yassmin trained as a mechanical engineer and worked on oil and gas rigs around Australia for years before becoming a writer and broadcaster in 2016. She published her debut memoir, Yassmin's Story, with Penguin Random House at age 24, and followed up with her first fiction book for younger readers, You Must Be Layla, in 2019. Yassmin’s critically acclaimed essays have been published in numerous anthologies, including the Griffith Review, the best-selling It’s Not About The Burqa and The New Daughters of Africa. Yassmin founded her first organization, Youth Without Borders, at the age of 16, leading it for nine years. Since, Yassmin has co-founded two other organisations and now shares her learnings through keynotes and workshops. Yassmin has spoken in over 20 countries on unconscious bias and inclusive leadership. Her TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over two million times and was one of TED’s top 10 ideas of 2015.

Fee Range: $10,500–$20,000
Travels From: Intl

Ms. Al-Suwaij is the co-founder and Executive Director of the American Islamic Congress (AIC), a nonprofit established in the wake of the September 11 attacks to build interfaith understanding; mobilize a moderate voice in the American Muslim community; and promote civil rights in the Muslim world. Al-Suwaij’s personal mission is to promote a positive Muslim-American voice that strengthens interfaith relations and addresses the many challenges in the Muslim world. She has developed classroom curricula; works with the Anti-Defamation League; and serves on Connecticut’s Hate Crimes Advisory Board. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, and Hartford Courant. Al-Suwaij has been interviewed on NPR, CNN, Fox, and Al-Jazeera. She has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, and many other campuses. She spoke alongside George Clooney at a massive April 2006 rally to Save Darfur in Washington, DC.

Fee Range: $6,000–$8,000
Travels From: DC

• Mo Amer is an Arab American stand up comedian and writer of Palestinian descent, known for his iconic work with the comedy troupe “Allah Made Me Funny” – the longest running artistic collective of Muslim comic performers in the world • He appears as a series regular on the Hulu original series Ramy (co-starring with Ramy Youssef). • A pioneer in Arab American stand up, Amer’s humor consists of observational comedy, political satire, and race related material, heavily drawing on autobiographical elements, as well as his unique improvised, conversational style • Amer has performed in well over two dozen countries on five continents, and he is the first and only Arab American refugee comic to perform for U.S. and coalition troops overseas • Amer’s television credits include Comedy Central’s @midnight , TRU TV’s Comedy Knockout , and HBO’s Crashing . He also appeared on Bassem Youssef’s historic show ‘AlBernameg’ (aka ‘ The Daily Show of Egypt’) • On October 8, 2018, Amer debuted his first stand up special on Netflix, entitled “The Vagabond”

Fee Range: Inquire
Travels From: CA

Dr. Kira Hudson Banks has been working to support individuals and groups to understand themselves, others, and systems of oppression for over 20 years. Her teaching, research, and community involvement is rooted in the values of Black Psychology, which uplifts the interconnectedness and resilience of people and rejects an individual and deficit approach. Banks enjoys facilitating difficult dialogues and has been described as making complex and controversial topics accessible and intergroup interactions more understandable. She has done so in schools, communities, institutions of higher education, and corporations. Currently, Banks is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Saint Louis University, an APA-accredited Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Her research examines the experience of discrimination, its impact on mental health, and intergroup relations.

Fee Range: $13,000–$16,000
Travels From: MO

Mehrsa Baradaran writes about banking law, financial inclusion, inequality, and the racial wealth gap. Her scholarship includes the books How the Other Half Banks and The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, both published by the Harvard University Press. Mehrsa Baradaran is a professor of law at UCI Law. Previously, she was the Robert Cotten Alston Chair in Corporate Law and Associate Dean for strategic initiatives with a focus on diversity and inclusion efforts and national and international faculty scholarship recognition at the University of Georgia School of Law. Baradaran and her books have received significant national and international media coverage and have been featured in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Slate and American Banker; National Public Radio’s Marketplace, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and as part of TEDxUGA. She has advised U.S. Senators and Congressmen on policy, testified before the U.S. Congress, and spoken at national and international forums like the U.S. Treasury and the World Bank.

Fee Range: $14,000–$20,000
Travels From: CA

Alluring audiences with emotionally tinged performances has been the signature of Angela Bassett, who personifies a sense of dignity and pride whenever she appears on screen. Her talent and abilities as an actress and executive producer in both television and film have time and time again earned the respect and acclaim from her peers and fans, proving her to be one of the industry's premier leading ladies. Bassett recently starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the Broadway premiere of Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning play “Mountaintop,” a gripping reimagining of events the night before the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Fee Range: Inquire
Travels From: CA

W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian and the director and executive producer of the four-part Showtime documentary, We Need To Talk About Cosby, which premiered at Sundance. He also hosts and executive-produces the Emmy Award winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. His new book, Do The Work: An Antiracist Activity Book, co-written with Kate Schatz, is forthcoming from Workman in July. His most recent stand-up comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau’s first book has an easy-to-remember title, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. He’s the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice and serves on the board of directors of Donors Choose and the advisory board of Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!).

Fee Range: $63,000–$111,000
Travels From: CA