2024 Building Power Summit Speakers List

  • Patrick Lumumba

    Patrick Lumumba- Black Liberation Movement of Mississippi

    Founder of the Black Liberation Movement of Mississippi and Regional Commander of EGPGC Mississippi, Patrick Lumumba is the facilitator of Mississippi on the Move, a 10 City Tour meant to highlight the significance and possibilities of a united Mississippi through civic development developed by the Black community.

  • Hawk Newsome

    Hawk Newsome- Black Opportunities New York City

    Co-Founder of Black Opportunities and Black Lives Matter (BLM) Greater New York. Since becoming independent of the BLM Global Network five years ago, Newsome and his team have spearheaded numerous legislative successes with a focus on police accountability and opened the Wildflower Charter School in the Bronx.

  • Friday Jones

    Khansa Jones-Muhammad- National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants Los Angeles

    Also known as Friday Jones, Khansa Jones-Muhammad is a leading reparations and political education expert out of California. The Howard University graduate has taken on essential roles such as Vice President of the Los Angeles Reparations Advisory Commission, President and Co-Facilitator of National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD) among others that have pushed the legislative envelope towards reparative justice for Black Americans.

  • Crystal Denise - ASE Academy

    Crystal Denise- ASE' Academy of Mississippi

    Crystal Denise is the Founder and Director of ASE' Academy, an institution with the mission“To provide true education (to bring forth the genius that is already there) for African children that supports our goals and aims to build and maintain the Black Nation.”

  • Rodney Lowe- Holly Springs Mayoral Candidate

    Rodney Lowe- Mayoral Candidate Holly Springs Mississippi

    Holly Springs Mayoral Candidate Rodney "DuvSac" Lowe also serves as Marshall County NAACP President. As a Voice for the People, Lowe is a trusted leader and advocate for the citizens of Holly Springs. His campaign focus includes better jobs in the city, an increase in youth-centered services and better medical services for senior citizens.

  • Dr. Akil Parker

    Dr. Akil Parker- All This Math Philadelphia

    Founder and CEO of All This Math,LLC- a private math tutoring and educational consulting company. Since retiring from the School District of Philadelphia in 2018, Professor Parker has been fully committed to empowering youth through mathematics education, recognizing its role in developing critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and expanding career possibilities.

  • Juanita Watson

    Juanita Watson- National Volunteer Council on Freedmen Affairs of California

    Nita Watson is a dynamic and passionate public speaker who has dedicated her life to advocating for restorative and reparative justice for Black American descendants of U.S. chattel slaves. With extensive work in the civil and human rights space, Nita brings a powerful voice to the fight for justice and equality. She is the President & CEO of the National Volunteer Council on Freedmen Affairs (NVCFA), based in the Antelope Valley in Southern California, and headquartered in Humble, Texas.

  • Katherine Larsha- Holistic Healing Mississippi

    Spreading Holistic Healing in the Black community, Katherine counsels and shares information that brings healing for our people. Another area of focus includes advocacy for the liberation of Black Americans who are descendants of American Chattel slavery from racial injustice, economic development, education, opportunities for particularly Black American Men and the Black Family Unit.

  • Edward Onaci- Ursinus College Pennsylvania

    Edward Onaci- Ursinus College Pennsylvania

    As Department Chair and Associate Professor at Ursinus College, Edward Onaci teaches courses on African American history, modern U.S. history, women’s global political struggles, social movements and music in Africa and its diaspora, and more. He is also author of "Free the Land: the Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation State".

  • Maine C- Youth Against Gang Activity

    Maine C- Youth Against Gang Activity of Mississippi

    As CEO of YAGA- Youth Against Gang Activity, Maine C has led with the purpose of instilling power within our youth by turning potential into reality. Along with youth empowerment, the overall aching goal is to aid in the uplifting of fallen humanity. For over five years, YAGA has worked tirelessly to support survivors of violence and create the social change necessary to end violence in Mississippi. The work of YAGA and aiding in the uplifting of fallen humanity,

  • Ty Pinkins

    Ty Pinkins Candidate for US Senate Mississippi

    A native of Rolling Fork Mississippi, Ty Pinkins, a decorated military veteran and lawyer with the Mississippi Center for Justice, launched his campaign for U.S Senate in January. He is well known for fighting against wage disparities faced by Mississippi's Black agricultural laborers in the Delta region by representing them in fair-wage lawsuits against employers who unfairly paid white South African employees more for the same work.

  • Dianne Black- Democratic nominee Northeast Mississippi U.S. House of Representatives

    Dianne Black Democratic Nominee Northeast Mississippi U.S. House of Representatives

    As the democratic nominee for the U.S. Congress for the 1st Congressional District of Mississippi, Dianne Black of Olive Branch made history as the first African-American woman to be on the ballot for District 1.

  • MORE TO COME!

    We have more speakers for you all they will be added as the are confirmed- thank you!