Hampton University Ministers’ Conference in Hampton, Va. is the oldest nondenominational African-American ministers conference in the country. The organization works to address the concerns of the African American church and its relationships to the community.

Coalition of African-American Pastors is a Christian organization that works to promote the values of faith and family in U.S. communities.

The African American Ministers Leadership Council is a nonprofit organization under People for the American Way that celebrates the historical role of the Black Church as a stronghold in a history of oppression.

The African American Ministers in Action is a leadership program under People for the American Way. This program works to create justice and peace for struggling communities in the U.S. to create freedom and opportunity for all.

Hipolito “Paul” Roldan is chief executive officer of the Hispanic Housing Development Corp. in Chicago, which says it is one of the largest nonprofit housing developers in the nation. He was the only employee when community leaders formed it in 1975 to improve Latinos’ housing and has since received a MacArthur “Genius” Award.

Paul Wycisk is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the National Urban League, whose goals include economic empowerment of African-Americans through home ownership. It is active in helping people learn about buying a home and obtaining financing.

James N. Gregory is a history professor at the University of Washington and director of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. Among books he has written is The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America (The University of North Carolina Press, 2006).

Charlyn M. Singleton is president of God’s Woman Conferences, based in Rialto, Calif. She is a motivational and revival speaker, working with youth, women and men at conferences, marriage events, retreats, workshops and worship services.

Cecil Williams has been the pastor of the 7,000-member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, in San Francisco’s gritty Tenderloin district since 1963. He is a spiritual, political and social force in the Bay Area, and the church is a leading voice in promoting diversity of all sorts, social activism and community programs.