Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for The United Church of Christ.

As a featured voice on many local, national, and international platforms, Rev. Blackmon’s life’s work focuses on communal resistance to systemic injustice through the redemptive power of love. Rev. Blackmon’s religious praxis is rooted in principled discipleship lived out through congregational and community engagement. Her response in Ferguson to the killing of Michael Brown resulted in national and international recognition, gaining her many audiences spanning the breadth of the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. Her work is now featured in several documentaries and print publications. Appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack Obama, Rev. Blackmon is a recipient of the NAACP Rosa Parks Award; The Urban League of St. Louis Woman in Leadership Award; and the National Planned Parenthood Faith Leader Award, to name a few. She is listed as one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 (2015), the St. Louis American’s Citizen of the Year (2017), and one of the 15 Faith Leaders to watch in 2020 by The Center for American Progress.

Rev. Blackmon is a graduate of Leadership St. Louis and is listed as one of St. Louis’ 100 most influential voices. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc and was inducted into the 33rd Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College. Rev. Blackmon is both proud and grateful to have served as pastor to both Simpson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Christ The King United Church of Christ. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Birmingham-Southern College where she is now listed among Distinguished Alumni, a Master of Divinity degree and an honorary doctorate from Eden Theological Seminary. She serves on the board of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. Rev. Blackmon currently resides in St. Louis, MO and is the proud mother of three adult children: Kortni Devon; Harold II; and Tyler Wayne Blackmon.

"I speak from the chorus of lions. And we are many!" ~ Rev. Traci D. Blackmon

Rev. Dr. Danielle J. Buhuro is a CPE Supervisor at Advocate Aurora South Suburban, Trinity and Christ Hospitals. Rev. Dr. Buhuro is passionate about issues of race, gender and sexuality. She is author of “Spiritual Care In An Age of #BlackLivesMatter: Examining the Spiritual and Prophetic Needs of African Americans Living In A Violent America."

Caleb DeBerry is a senior at Northside College Prep. He serves as a board member at A Just Harvest, as well as the Executive Director of Vote16 Illinois, an organization dedicated to lowering the voting age to 16 in local elections.

Roberto Pérez is a chef, musician, and researcher of Afro-Caribbean traditions. He is one of the founding members of acclaimed Afro-Puerto Rican music group, Bomba con Buya, and the co-founder of educational culinary initiative, Urban Pilón.

Urban Pilón is a culinary movement with a mission: to honor and preserve cooking traditions from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, while using completely natural, healthy ingredients. With this mission in mind, Roberto serves not only as chef, but as storyteller, sharing the stories of our ancestors through his cooking, classes, and demonstrations. His popular Caribbean cooking courses showcase these stories by teaching both classic and original recipes along with the history behind them.

Christophe D. Ringer serves as Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics and Society at Chicago Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He is passionate about understanding the relationship between self, society and the sacred in the pursuit of social justice and human flourishing. He is the author of Necropolitics: The Religious Crisis of U.S. Mass Incarceration that examines the religious meanings that sustain mass incarceration. Ringer’s professional experience also includes a background in community development as well as serving as a counselor at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison (R.M.S.I.) and Behavioral Treatment Providers (BTP). In addition, Ringer served ten years as pastor of Howard Congregational UCC and was actively involved with numerous campaigns to advance social justice. Recently he’s been active in the campaign that has now abolished wealth based pre-trial incarceration
in Illinois. Ringer is a New Leaders Council Fellow, member of the U.S. Human Rights Network, board member of the Chicago Renewal Society, board president of A Just Harvest, and leadership team member of the Workers Center for Racial Justice. Ringer is married to the wonderful Minister Kimberly Peeler-Ringer.