Michelle Obama

Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Mrs. Obama is the author of the memoir Becoming, a #1 New York Times bestseller that won an NAACP Image Award, was named one of Essence’s 50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Past 50 Years, and was selected as an Oprah’s Book Club pick. Becoming has been adapted into an edition for young readers and is the basis for Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice. She is also the author of American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America and recently contributed the introduction for Follow That Food!, a picture book tie-in with Waffles + Mochi, a Netflix children’s series from Higher Ground Productions, the production company she founded with her husband, former President Barack Obama.

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the creator of the landmark 1619 Project. Hannah-Jones is author of the forthcoming The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story and the coauthor of the picture book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water written with Renée Watson, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith. She also has written extensively about school resegregation across the country and chronicled the decades-long failure of the federal government to enforce the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act. In 2016, she co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a training and mentorship organization dedicated to increasing the ranks of investigative reporters of color.

Renée Watson

Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award. Her books for young readers include Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and Ways to Make Sunshine, which received the SCBWI Golden Kite Award. She is the coauthor of the forthcoming picture book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water written with Nikole Hannah-Jones, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith.

Watson has given readings and lectures at locations including the United Nations, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Embassies in Japan and New Zealand.
Watson is on the Council of Writers for the National Writing Project and is a member of the Academy of American Poets’ Education Advisory Council. She grew up in Portland, Oregon, and splits her time between Portland and New York City. To learn more about her work, visit www.reneewatson.net.

Nikkolas Smith

Nikkolas Smith, a native of Houston, Texas, is an Artivist, picture book author, and Hollywood film illustrator. He is the author/illustrator of The Golden Girls of Rio, nominated for an NAACP Image Award, My Hair Is Poofy And That’s Okay, and World Cup Women. He is the illustrator of the forthcoming picture book, The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, cowritten by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson.
As a Black illustrator, Nikkolas is focused on creating captivating art that can spark important conversations around social justice in today’s world and inspire meaningful change. Many of his viral, globally shared and published sketches are included in his book Sunday Sketch: The Art of Nikkolas. He also speaks on his Artivism at conferences, workplaces, and schools around the world, and leads workshops in digital painting, character, and movie poster design. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Learn more at www.NIKKOLAS.art.