Equity

Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School | Co-Host of Some of My Best Friends Are | Author of The Condemnation of Blackness

There is a gap between our aspiration for racial equity and our actualization of it.

Anthony Jack

Author of The Privileged Poor | Boston University Associate Professor and Newbury Center Faculty Director

Poverty and equality shape not just how students get to college, but how they make it through.

Adam Harris

Author of The State Must Provide: The Definitive History of Racial Inequality in American Higher Education | Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Higher education could be a powerful force for equity and democracy—but it must face up to its history of racial injustice first.

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

Editor of The Black Agenda | Harvard Researcher on Inequality, Education, and Work

When we both identify and disrupt patterns of discrimination, we create a better world for our most marginalized communities—and for everyone else.

Clint Smith

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of How the Word Is Passed and Above Ground | Atlantic Staff Writer

The legacy of slavery still shapes our cities, roads, and stories today. Understanding our history will help us make sense of our world—and fight for a better one.

Waneek Horn-Miller

Olympian, Activist, and Speaker on Indigenous Health and Reconciliation

Your struggle is your motivation in disguise.

Heather McGhee

Author of New York Times Bestseller The Sum of Us

Racism has a cost for everyone—but there are ways we can prosper together.

Sarah Kaplan

Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy at Rotman School of Management | Author of The 360° Corporation

Corporate social responsibility is our generation’s biggest innovation challenge.

Rachel L. Swarns

Author of The 272: The Families who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church | Associate Professor at New York University | Former New York Times Johannesburg Bureau Chief

Slavery fueled the growth of our churches, schools, and institutions. We must face that history if we want to understand—and someday transcend—our racial divide.

George M. Johnson

New York Times Bestselling Author Of All Boys Aren’t Blue & We Are Not Broken | Emmy Nominee | LGBTQIA+ Activist

Stories of queer identity and Black joy have the power to educate us on diversity, inspire social justice activism, and build community.

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of The 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

There isn’t a beat you can cover in America—education, housing—where race is not a factor.

Salman Khan

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Khan Academy

All children deserve access to a free, world-class education.

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Award-winning photographer | Associate professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago | MacArthur Genius

Art is a weapon. Photos can change society—our view of ourselves and our communities.

Jelani Cobb

New Yorker Staff Writer | Columbia Journalism School Dean | Speaker on race, history, politics and culture in America

In the fight for racial justice, we must face the past to forge a better future.

Paul Tough

New York Times bestselling author of The Inequality Machine

The power of higher education to change a student's life is strongly linked to their socioeconomic status.

Bill Strickland

An Extraordinary Business and Community Leader

Give people the tools they need, treat them with respect, and they will perform miraculous deeds.

Ashton Applewhite

Anti-ageism activist | Author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism

Ageism is prejudice against our future selves. What if we were free of it?

Our equity speakers are international authorities in this international conversation. Offering incredibly comprehensive and diverse perspectives on the state of equity today—especially in the realm of education—they share their expertise on what we can do to enhance it, and lift each other up.