Meet the Commissioners

Ms. Addie Richburg

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In June 2019, Ms. Richburg, an accomplished speaker and strategist, formally assumed the role of Executive Director of the 400 Years of African American History Commission.
Addie L. Richburg is co-founder and currently serves as President/CEO of the National Alliance of Faith and Justice. Within her 22-year career with the U.S. Dept. of Justice (BOP), Ms. Richburg received over 30 awards to include the agency’s highest national award for EE0 (Equal Employment Opportunity). In addition, she earned recognition as Instructor and Employee of the Year, Supervisor of the Quarter, multiple Sustained Superior Performance Awards, and countless external accolades for her design and dedication to numerous special acts and service on various national boards.

Dr. Rex M. Ellis

Chairman

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Ted T. Ellis is a renowned artist, creative historian, and advocate for cultural preservation. Served as the inaugural Director of the Southern University at New Orleans Museum of Art (SUNOMA) and is the current Director of the Florida State University Civil Rights Institute, he blends art and history to inspire social change. As Chair of the federal 400 Years of African American History Commission, Ellis leads efforts to honor Black heritage and its contributions to America. An environmental chemist with a Master’s in Museum Studies, he uses his multidisciplinary expertise to educate, curate, and create. His art celebrates diversity, culture, and the enduring spirit of humanity.

Dr. Rex M. Ellis

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Dr. Rex M. Ellis retired from the position of Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) at the Smithsonian Institution, in 2019. Prior to this position, Dr. Ellis was the Vice President of the Historic Area for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, a MFA from Wayne State University, a Masters of Divinity from Virginia Union University, and a Doctorate of Education from the College of William and Mary. He is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fort Monroe, and is currently Chair Emeritus of the 400 Years of African-American History Commission.

Ron Carson

Vice Chair

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Mr. Carson was born in Pennington Gap, Virginia during the period in history in which segregation was firmly upheld in state. As a child, he attended the same one room elementary school, Pennington Colored School, that his mother had attended and that had been built in 1939 by his great-great grandmother. This little one room school served as the only source of education for the black children in Pennington until 1965 when the school integrated. In 1987, Ron and his wife, Jill, founded what is called the Appalachian African American Cultural Center (AAACC) housed in the Pennington Colored School building. Mr. Carson has dedicated the center and his life’s work to preserving the life stories, histories, culture and events of African Americans in the Southern Appalachian Region. His work has expanded from the center to include the development and presentation of anti-racism workshops for which the center has received several accolades and awards over the years for fostering race relations.

Dr. Gwendolyn Wilson Diggs

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Dr. Gwendolyn Wilson Diggs is a transformational leader with over 25 years of experience in education and community service. As Vice President of the Urban League Metropolitan St. Louis, she champions school readiness and holistic well-being for children, parents, and staff. She is a former Assistant Superintendent and current adjunct professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Dr. Diggs has pioneered academic initiatives, parent engagement, and community outreach. A Certified Flourishing Workplace, Educator, and Parenting Coach, she inspires growth in individuals and organizations. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and has lived internationally.

Dr. Kirsten Buick

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Kirsten Pai Buick is Professor of Art History and Chair of Africana Studies at the University of New Mexico. Her work focuses on the material and visual culture of the first British Empire; art of the U.S.; African American art; landscape representation; and histories of medicine. She received the David C. Driskell Prize for Child of the Fire: Mary Edmonia Lewis and the Problem of Art History’s Black and Indian Subject (Duke Univ. Press, 2010). In 2022, she was named Distinguished Scholar by the College Art Association. Her second book, In Authenticity: “Kara Walker” and the Eidetics of Racism, is in progress.

Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III

Ms. Kenya Cox

President, Kansas State Conference of NAACP Branches

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Kenya Cox is widely respected for her unwavering dedication to community advocacy throughout Kansas, earning her the title of “Servant Leader.” Renowned for her ability to foster consensus and build collaborative relationships, Kenya has served in the administrations of three Kansas governors, two U.S. congressmen, and one U.S. senator. She currently leads as President of the Kansas State Conference of NAACP Branches and serves on the National NAACP Board of Directors, representing a ten-state region. Her leadership reflects a lifelong commitment to advancing equity, justice, and community empowerment.

Prophet Anyanwu Cox, RN, M.Ed.

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Prophet N. Anyanwu Cox, M.Ed., RN is a transformational leader and holistic practitioner with over 40 years of expertise in mental health, trauma care, and community advocacy. As an ordained minister, Certified NADA Acudetox Specialist, and Co-founder of AFRO4UN, she empowers marginalized communities globally. She serves as Director of Programs for the African American Future Society, Co-leads the International Civil Society Working Group for the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and Co-founded the Wichita Reparations Coalition. An enstooled elder and reconciliation minister, Prophet Cox’s work bridges healing, justice, and equity through innovative, culturally grounded initiatives.

Hannibal B. Johnson, Esq.

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Hannibal B. Johnson, a Harvard Law School graduate, is an author, attorney, consultant, and college professor. He chaired the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission and served as local curator for its acclaimed museum, Greenwood Rising–The Black Wall Street History Center. Many of his books chronicle the Black experience in Oklahoma and its indelible impact on American history. Johnson received a lifetime achievement award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book and has been inducted into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame, the Tulsa Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Ms. Kay Coulson

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In 2022, Commissioner Kay Coulson became part of the 400YAAHC family. She regards her appointment as one of her most proud and significant achievements. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Masters in Public Administration (MPA) at California State University, Long Beach. She retired after 21 years from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. As a specialist in the field of criminal justice, she understands the significance of having an open perspective and treating individuals with courtesy. After more than twenty years working in a correctional environment, she has acquired invaluable experience. She’s a wife, mother, and she is a grandmother of eight. Kay has been a life member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) since 1998. In addition, she’s a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

Dr. Cheryl T. Grills

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Dr. Cheryl T. Grills is a Clinical Psychologist, a President’s Professor, and Full Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at LMU. On the faculty for 38 years she is founder and director of its Psychology Applied Research Center. As a national Past President of the Association of Black Psychologists she was a founding member of the Alliance of National Ethnic Psychological Associations for Racial and Ethnic Equity and co-designed the racial stress and trauma Emotional Emancipation (EE) Circles. Appointed by the Governor of CA (2021-2023) she served on the CA Reparations Taskforce and is a commissioner on the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC).

Annette Gordon-Reed

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Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. Gordon-Reed won 16 book prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, for The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. She is the author of six books, and editor of two. She was the Vyvyan Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Oxford (Queen’s College) 2014-2015, and is an Honorary Fellow at Queen’s. Gordon-Reed has served as the President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic and President of the Society of American Historians. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations, and the National Humanities Medal. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the British Academy.

Cheryl Johnson

Rev. Dr. Joseph Green Jr

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Rev. Dr. Joseph L Green Jr, the first to be elected Chair of the 400 Years of African American History Commission, is a husband, father, businessman and a published author. In September of 2016, Dr. Green started the 2019 Movement, a movement aimed at racial and cultural reconciliation. Dr. Green is the head pastor of St Paul Missionary Baptist Church, located in Harrisburg Pa. He is the Pennsylvania Ministry Leader for Capitol Ministries. Dr. Green is the author of several books including Kingdom business, a book that discusses Race, Religion, and Politics from a Biblical perspective, and The Power of The Original Church.

National Park Service Representatives

Lewis H. Rogers

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Lewis H. Rogers is a 40-year veteran of the National Park Service. He has served at 12 different posts in the National Park System, each in national parks except one, a detail to the position of Deputy Regional Director, Chief of Staff, for the Northeast Region.
His career has taken him from a GS-3 Park Aid to a GS-14 superintendent at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Battlefield. He also served eight years in the US Naval Reserves as a heavy equipment operator in the Construction Battalion (SeaBees). Lewis currently lives with his wife, daughter, and one son who lives nearby.

Student Ambassadors

Mr. Anthony Tybre Faw

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Mr. Anthony Tybre Faw is far from your average teenage boy. While he plays football, video games, board games, the trumpet, and jokes around with classmates like any other teen, he’s an old soul beneath the surface. Tybre, while only a teenager, has lived a far more exciting life than many retired adults. He’s walked the same path in Selma, Alabama that Representative John Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took in 1965 in fight for civil rights. He has also published two books, became the topic of another book written by New York Times bestselling author, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and has received a full scholarship to Benedict College years before even graduating high school. Believe it or not, those are only a few of his accomplishments.

Meet the Commissioners

Ms. Addie Richburg

Dr. Rex M. Ellis

Dr. Rex M. Ellis

Ron Carson

Dr. Gwendolyn Wilson Diggs

Dr. Kirsten Buick

Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III

Ms. Kenya Cox

Prophet Anyanwu Cox, RN, M.Ed.

Hannibal B. Johnson, Esq.

Ms. Kay Coulson

Dr. Cheryl T. Grills

Annette Gordon-Reed

Cheryl Johnson

Rev. Dr. Joseph Green Jr

National Park Service Representatives

Lewis H. Rogers

Student Ambassadors

Mr. Anthony Tybre Faw

Ms. Saniya Gay