Colleges & Universities

In celebration of Pride Month, we honor APB speaker Cleve Jones, a renowned activist and speaker whose work began in the 1970s during the gay liberation movement. A mentee of groundbreaking LGBTQ+ activist Harvey Milk, Jones has gone on to co-found the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, create the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and publish the memoir, When We Rise. 

New York Times bestselling author and APB speaker Wes Moore is about to release his new book, Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, which was originally based on his personal journey to explore what happened in his hometown, but soon turned into a larger exploration of poverty and inequity; purpose and disillusionment; focus and frustration.

NBA legend and APB speaker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently wrote a poignant op-ed for the LA Times defending the protests taking place across the country. In this moving piece, Kareem defends these protests saying he doesn’t want to see stores being looted. He goes on to remind people that the protests are what happens when the black community has been pushed to their tipping point. “The black community is used to the institutional racism inherent in education, the justice system and jobs. And even though we do all the conventional things to raise public and political awareness…the needle hardly budges,” he says. “African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible—even if you’re choking on it—until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere,” Kareem writes. Abdul-Jabbar also goes on to say that racism is deadlier than COVID-19.  

College football star, attorney, author, former FBI agent and former federal prosecutor M. Quentin Williams is now working with law enforcement, the community and a growing number of athletes in building bridges to inspire social change and understanding.

Today is Juneteenth, a day that should be recognized by all Americans. It marks June 19, 1865, when enslaved African-Americans throughout Texas learned that they were free—news that took approximately two months after the Confederate surrender of  the Civil War and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation to reach them. It is also the anniversary of the Greenwood Massacre, one of the worst episodes of racist violence in U.S. history. On June 19, 1921 a white mob stormed a thriving African-American neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, burning it to the ground and killing 300 people. As our nation recognizes the legacy of Juneteenth during a time of heightened consciousness over pervasive racism and persecution in our nation, we urge you to learn more about the significance of this anniversary.

Over 55 years ago, APB was founded on the mission to provide an open forum for individuals to voice their opinions and points of view. Now is the time to speak out. Now is the time to stand together. Now is the time for change. We have a long history of working toward racial justice and providing a platform to those giving a voice to the voiceless, from such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., Dick Gregory, and Adam Clayton Powell to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. As we reflect on everything that is happening, let’s be confident that change will come – and smart enough to know that it must involve all of us.

Audiobooks are having a moment. APB speaker and bestselling author Brad Meltzer along with APB speaker and CBS News contributor David Pogue say it’s the acting and tone of a good narrator that draws listener to the audiobook.  

From grassroots activism to presidential campaigns to working in the White House, speaker Karine Jean-Pierre is now Joe Biden’s 2020 senior advisor. Jean-Pierre had previously served in the Obama White House as regional political director before working as deputy battleground states director on his 2012 re-election.

Called "America’s Historian" and recognized as one of "Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors," Brad Meltzer recently gave his son a graduation like no other—a personalized one from the comfort of their own living room. In his speech, he said: “This cap is from my high school graduation. When I wore it, I was 18 and I thought I was invincible. When I wore it, I was dating the most beautiful girl in school, my high school sweetheart, now she’s your mom.” Watch the full speech here.

American astronauts on American rockets launching from American soil for the first time since 2011. This is Launch America. APB Speaker and Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino is excited to be a part of Discovery Channel’s live broadcast of Space Launch Live: America Returns to Space, which is in partnership with The Washington Post. The live broadcast will be on May 27th at 2:00 p.m. ET/PT and will go until the launch ends.