Abdul-Rauf, Mahmoud: - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Jackson) is a world-renowned professional basketball player who grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi. He first caught the nation's attention in 1988 as a Louisiana State University (LSU) freshman sensation. That year he averaged 30.2 points per game, an NCAA record that stands to this day. In 1990, he entered the NBA after his sophomore year and was drafted 3^rd overall by the Denver Nuggets. In 1991, he converted to Islam and took the same Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

By the 1995-1996 season, Abdul-Rauf was unmatched on the court, scoring 51 against the seemingly unbreakable Utah Jazz, 32 on Michael Jordan, and leading his team in both points and assists. It was shortly before this time that Abdul-Rauf decided he would no longer stand for the national anthem, viewing the American flag as a symbol of oppression and racism. The NBA temporarily suspended Abdul-Rauf, and soon he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, where he was kept on the bench much of the time. After his contract expired, he found himself shunned by every NBA team, effectively forced out of the league. Today, Abdul-Rauf plays in the BIG3 basketball league where he was named co-captain of his team and led them to consecutive playoff and semi-finals games. He continues to participate in many speaking engagements around the world encouraging people to stand up for their principles.

Chiles, Nick: -

Nick Chiles is a bestselling author and an award-winning journalist. He is the author or co-author of 20 books, including three New York Times bestsellers he wrote with R&B icon Bobby Brown, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, and gospel legend Kirk Franklin. He is the co-author with Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx of his parenting memoir, Act Like You Got Some Sense. With Atlanta attorney Robbin Shipp he wrote Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice System, which was a finalist for a 2015 NAACP Image Award. Chiles served as a newspaper reporter, magazine writer, and magazine and website editor-in-chief during more than three decades in journalism, winning nearly 20 major awards--including a 1992 Pulitzer Prize as part of a New York Newsday team. He also worked as a literary agent with the Manhattan-based Aevitas Creative Management. He has served as a professor at Columbia Journalism School and at Princeton University and is currently a journalism professor at the University of Georgia. Chiles earned a bachelors degree from Yale and an MFA from University of Georgia.