Katherine Tate is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author and coauthor of several books, including most recently, What's Going On? Political Incorporation and the Transformation of Black Public Opinion.

James Lance Taylor is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics at the University of San Francisco. Taylor is the author of Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama.

Mark Q. Sawyer is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at UCLA. He is the author of the award winning book, Racial Politics in Post Revolutionary Cuba, and co-editor of Just Neighbors?: Research on African Americans and Latino Relations in the United States.