Panelist Bios
Reverend Al Sharpton
The Reverend Al Sharpton is an internationally renowned civil rights leader, founder, and President of the National Action Network (NAN), which has more than 100 chapters across the country. Hailed by former President Barack Obama as a “champion for the downtrodden,” Reverend Sharpton is the host of “Politics Nation” on MSNBC; a nationally syndicated daily radio show “Keepin’ It Real”; and a nationally broadcast radio show on Sunday titled, “The Hour of Power."
Angela Yee
Award-winning media personality Angela Yee currently hosts her own nationally syndicated iHeartMedia radio show “Way Up with Angela Yee” as well as her highly rated relationship and sex podcast “Lip Service.” On “Way Up,” she gives the impactful celebrity interviews that she’s known for in addition to connecting with listeners on hot and timely topics. “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to create a brand-new show,” says Angela. “I’m dedicated to making the new program exciting, thoughtful, provocative, and most importantly, a safe haven for even more of us to grow and learn while having fun.” The new radio endeavor arrives on the heels of Yee’s 12-year run as co-host on Power 105.1’s wildly popular morning show “The Breakfast Club,” for which the trio was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2020.
Outside of media, Angela is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building businesses that give back to the community. She owns the Juices For Life juice bar in Brooklyn, created Drink Fresh Juice organic pressed juices that are distributed in grocers across the country, and co-founded Coffee Uplifts People (CUP), a majority Black-owned coffee company with a brick-and-mortar location in Brooklyn. Furthermore, she continues to expand her real estate portfolio with multiple properties in New York City, Upstate New York, and Detroit.
In 2018, the New York City mayor officially designated August 28th as Angela Yee Day, now an annual community event in Brooklyn spotlighting local Black-owned businesses and Black and Caribbean music artists. Additionally, Yee is on a mission to improve financial literacy through her Wealth Wednesdays platform and her partnership with StellarFi, a public benefit corporation that provides underrepresented communities with access to credit. With her finger on the pulse of hip-hop, culture, business, and community, Angela Yee is a multi-hyphenate in every sense.
Barbara Bullard
Barbara Bullard, President of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute creative entrepreneur, publicist, writer, and producer serves clients from United Nations Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to nonprofit and corporate institutions. Her commitment to inspiring through storytelling manifests through her curating Marginalized Voices and Media on The Hill in collaboration with the Congressional Media Caucus and solidifying the legacies of social revolutionaries such as Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Carrying the baton of Congresswoman Chisholm’s legacy from the late William R. Howard, legislative aid, finance chair, and friend to the late Congresswoman Chisholm, Barbara is forging 21st-century initiatives supporting underrepresented voices. As an author, Barbara is sought after by art advocates, corporations, and policymakers to present healing and social justice conversations on equity, cultural inclusivity, and community engagement.
Congresswoman Cori Bush
Congresswoman Cori Bush is a registered nurse, community activist, organizer, single mother, and ordained pastor for the people of St. Louis. Congresswoman Bush is serving her first term as the representative of Missouri’s 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She is the first Black woman and first nurse to represent Missouri; the first woman to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District; and the first activist from the movement fighting for Black lives elected to the United States Congress.
Congresswoman Bush has lived the struggles that many in her community face. She has personally experienced being unhoused and evicted and is a survivor of police, sexual, and domestic violence. She centers those hardships in her fight for regular, everyday people. Her mission is to do the very most for all of the people of Missouri’s 1st Congressional District—starting with those who have the very least.
David J. Johns
David J. Johns is known for his passion, public policy acumen and fierce advocacy for youth. He is an enthusiast about equity—leveraging his time, talent and treasures to address the needs of individuals and communities often neglected and ignored. A recognized thought leader and social justice champion, David’s career has focused on improving life outcomes and opportunities for Black people.
On September 1, 2017, David Johns began his next life chapter as the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)—a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. NBJC’s mission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ bias and stigma.
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is a writer of many books, including "She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power" that takes the reader from Queen Nzingha to Rep. Shirley Chisholm. She is a Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College and a legal correspondent covering the U.S. Supreme Court and United Nations. Professor Browne-Marshall has spoken on many television networks and platforms across the United States as well as London, Geneva, Johannesburg, Paris, Toronto and Luanda on issues of racial justice and gender equity. Gloria is a civil rights attorney and produced playwright. Her most recent stage play on social justice is "Dreams of Emmett Till."
Montserrat Mendez
Montserrat Mendez is a writer, producer and esteemed board member of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute. He is CEO and founder of The MozzleStead Company, whose mission it is to explore the awe-inspiring transformative power of story, and no story speaks more clearly to the power of transformation than that of the life of Shirley Chisholm. He has spent several years researching her life, and speaking to the people who knew her best in order to deliver to the screen the most thrilling, dynamic and truthful version of her incredible story. Go to www.mozzlestead.com to view Montserrat’s work.
Dr. Zinga Fraser
Dr. Zinga A. Fraser is an award winning political scientist/historian. She is an author, lecturer, historical consultant and philanthropist. Dr. Fraser is an Assistant Professor in the Africana Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at Brooklyn College. She is also the Director of the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism at Brooklyn College. She is a foremost expert on Shirley Chisholm and Black Congressional women. She is known nationally for her expertise in Black Politics , Black Women’s History and Black women’s cultural politics. She is currently completing her book manuscript titled, Sister Insider/ Sister Outsider: Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan, Black Women’s Politics in the Post- Civil Rights Era. In addition to another forthcoming book under contract on Shirley Chisholm. Her life abides by one of Shirley Chisholm’s most famous quotes. “Service is rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.
Tylik McMillan
Tylik McMillan serves as the National Director of Youth and College and Policy Advisor for the National Action Network. Tylik helps move the organization from demonstration to legislation. He works to educate lawmakers and stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities facing our communities, by advocating for more resources and policies that help invest and advance economic and social equality in our communities.
Tylik under the leadership of Rev. Al Sharpton and Washington DC Bureau Chief Ebonie Riley helped organize the 2020 Commitment March on Washington that drew over 200,000 to Washington DC. Standing before a sea of protestors who converged at the Lincoln Memorial to demand an end to systemic racism, Tylik delivered an impassioned demand to get in good trouble quoting late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, reminding attendees that the fight is not just for ourselves, but for generations yet unborn.
Yvette Clarke
Hailing from central Brooklyn, Congresswoman Yvette Diane Clarke feels honored to represent the community that raised her. She is the proud daughter of Jamaican immigrants and takes her passion for her Caribbean heritage to Congress, where she co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and works to foster relationships between the United States and the Caribbean Community. Clarke is Chair of the Homeland Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee, under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and was Co-chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee during the 116th Congress. Clarke has been a member of the Congressional Black Caucus since coming to Congress in 2007 and today chairs its Immigration Task Force.
As the Representative of the Ninth Congressional District of New York, Congresswoman Clarke has dedicated herself to continuing the legacy of excellence established by the late Honorable Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman and Caribbean American elected to Congress.