PANEL DISCUSSION
ABOUT THE EVENT
Welcome to A Live Panel Discussion: Where We Go From Here! Join us at Gordon Parks Arts Hall for an engaging conversation about the future. Our panelists will share insights, discuss challenges, and explore opportunities. This in-person event promises thought-provoking discussions and networking opportunities. Don't miss out on this chance to be part of the conversation on shaping tomorrow. See you there!
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project and the 1619 Project children's book, Born on the Water, were instant #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her 1619 Project is now a six-part docuseries on Hulu and won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.
Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice. Her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two and the National Magazine Award three times. She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy.
Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color. In 2022, she opened the 1619 Freedom School, a free afterschool literacy program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and African-American Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
Janai Nelson is President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the nation’s premier civil rights law organization fighting for racial justice and equality, where she leads its strategic vision, program, and operations. Nelson formerly served as Associate Director-Counsel, as a member of LDF’s litigation and policy teams, and in various other leadership capacities at LDF. Before joining LDF in June 2014, Nelson was Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Associate Director of the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development at St. John’s University School of Law, where she was also a full professor of law and served on the law school’s Senior Leadership Team. Before entering academia, Nelson was a Fulbright Scholar at the Legal Resources Center in Accra, Ghana. Nelson began practicing law as the 1998 recipient of an NAACP LDF/Fried Frank Fellowship. She received a B.A. from New York University and a J.D. from UCLA School of Law. Upon graduating from law school, Nelson clerked for the Honorable Theodore McMillian on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1997-1998) and the Honorable David H. Coar on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1996-1997). Nelson regularly speaks as a civil rights, constitutional law, and election law expert at conferences and symposia nationwide and has been listed in multiple venues as a suggested candidate for the federal judiciary. Nelson is a member of the board of directors of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights and of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father began buying him stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. His interest in equities grew while in college and over the two-plus years he worked as a stockbroker for William Blair & Company. In 1983, John founded Ariel at age 24 to focus on patient, value investing within small- and medium-sized companies. While Ariel’s research capabilities have expanded across the globe, patience is still the disciplined approach that drives the firm today. Early in his career, John’s investment acumen brought him to the forefront of media attention and culminated in him being selected as co-mutual fund manager of the year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance magazine as well as an all-star mutual fund manager by USA Today. Furthermore, John has been highlighted alongside legendary investors Warren Buffett, Sir John Templeton and Ben Graham in the distinguished book: The World’s 99 Greatest Investors by Magnus Angenfelt.
The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III is senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He is a preacher, poet, activist, author, and filmmaker with an eye toward justice and equality, as evidenced through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He founded The Unashamed Media Group, a justice-centered, faith-based agency committed to producing and curating stories to inspire the heart and challenge the mind. His most recent book is Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair (2015). In October 2020, Dr. Moss created Otis’ Dream, a short film about his grandfather's unsuccessful attempt to vote in 1946.
Dr. Moss preaches a theology of liberation rooted in a Black Spirituality of love and justice. His passion for African American culture and history, combined with a deep appreciation for jazz and hip hop, have culminated in a unique message of hope and healing through a jazz narrative on American democracy. Most recently his messages have been featured on the Meditative Stories Podcast and On Being with Krista Tippett. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a new opportunity to convey scriptural messages through a cinematic and sermonic lens. The Unashamed Media Group has produced five short films/sermons using cinematic liturgy in 2020. Dr. Moss is ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ. Dr. Moss was identified by the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English language in 2018. He is married to Monica Brown Moss, and they are the grateful parents of the amazing team of MK and Eli.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Robin Robinson
Robin Robinson is an award-winning journalist and respected broadcaster whose more than three decades of Chicago-based reporting is marked by in-depth coverage of significant issues.
A native Chicagoan, Robinson spent her younger years in California, earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism at San Diego State University. She began her broadcast news career at KGTV in San Diego. After moving on to KMGH-TV in Denver, she returned to Chicago as a reporter/anchor for WBBM-CBS TV in 1983. She moved to WFLD-TV as the founding anchor of the station’s weeknight newscast, where she broadcast for 29 years.
Following her exit from broadcasting, Robin joined the Chicago Police Department in a command-level civilian role focused on repairing community relationships to enable partnership for improved peace and safety.
Robin founded Birdland Media, Ltd in 2015 as a consultancy for individuals and organizations needing overall strategic messaging, speech writing and preparation, on-camera training, and crisis response/avoidance. She utilizes her participatory dialogue skills and leverages her broad network within the civic, business, charitable, and journalism communities to bring the power of story to client goals.
Robin also continues her broadcast story-telling platform on CANTV, Channel 19 in Chicago, as host of the program In Other News with Robin Robinson.