Michelle Duster

Michelle Duster is an author, speaker, educator, and the great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells. Her most recent works include Ida B. the Queen and anthologies Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism and Michelle Obama's Impact on African American Women and Girls. Michelle was involved in having a major downtown Chicago street renamed to IDA B WELLS DRIVE in 2018 and worked with a committee to develop a monument in honor of her great-grandmother, which was completed in 2021 and located on the land where the Ida B. Wells Homes once stood in Chicago.

Originally from New York City, Laura Freeman now lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts and has illustrated over thirty children's books, including the Coretta Scott King Honor book Hidden Figures written by Margot Lee Shetterly, the Nikki & Deja series by Karen English, and Fancy Party Gowns by Deborah Blumenthal.