National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS is the oldest non-profit organization of its kind in the U.S. It works to educate and empower African American leaders to fight and help protect against HIV/AIDS in local communities through education, policy, advocacy, research and resource development.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organization works to ensure political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

The King Center in Atlanta educates people about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., nonviolent conflict-reconciliation and social change.

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.

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.