2027 Theme: “From Black Print Culture to Digital Blackness,”

Who tells our stories, who owns them, and what will the next generation inherit? These questions guide Our Authors Study Club’s 2027 programming as we bring the national Black History theme, “From Black Print Culture to Digital Blackness,” into conversation with Roots @50. From newspapers and radio to television, podcasts, and artificial intelligence, our programs will explore how Black people have used each new medium to tell their own stories and challenge the forces that distort or erase them.

Two hundred years after Freedom’s Journal declared, “We want to plead our own case,” California’s Black media history gives that declaration a local voice. Charlotta Bass used the California Eagle to confront injustice and chronicle Black life in Los Angeles. Early broadcasts by Kid Ory’s Sunshine Orchestra and A. C. Bilbrew brought Black music to the airwaves. Today, Black radio hosts, independent publishers, and podcasters carry that work forward, creating places for communities to hear themselves and debate their futures.

Roots connects these eras. The 50th anniversary of Alex Haley’s novel in 2026 and the miniseries in 2027 give us a chance to revisit what happened when a family story moved from the printed page into living rooms across America. For many families, it raised questions about names, places, and ancestors they had never thought to ask. Through the Roots @50 exhibition and festival, OASC will invite people to ask those questions again, record an elder’s memories, and preserve family photographs and stories on their own terms.

Artificial intelligence makes those choices more urgent. Black researchers and builders are shaping the technology itself: Kunle Olukotun has helped develop the computing systems that power AI, while UCLA scholar Safiya Umoja Noble has shown how search systems can reproduce racial stereotypes. Their work helps us ask what digital tools can make easier to find, what they can misrepresent, and who decides how our stories and images are used.

We invite Black media organizations across print, radio, television, podcasts, streaming, and digital platforms to help shape this conversation through interviews, community storytelling, and opportunities for young people to report and produce their own stories.

Across OASC exhibitions, roundtables, and youth programs, we want families to leave with something they can carry forward: a story they have recorded, a source they know how to question, or the confidence to tell a story in their own voice.

Black History is American History.

Honorary and General Chair

Cookie Parker

Cookie Parker is an accomplished executive, technology entrepreneur, and civic leader with more than 55 years of leadership spanning innovation, enterprise strategy, public service, and philanthropy.

She is the founder and former President of KMS Software Company, an international human resources technology firm acquired by SAP, where she pioneered the first U.S. paperless HR onboarding platform. Under her leadership, KMS served global clients including Citigroup, GE, BP, and KPMG—helping transform workforce systems at scale.

Parker began her career at IBM, where she became the top-performing Systems Engineering and Marketing Manager in the Western Region. She later held senior executive roles at CGS, NCS, and CPR, consistently working at the intersection of technology, workforce development, and institutional change.

Her board service reflects a deep commitment to civic engagement, democracy, and equity. She serves on the corporate board of Vive Concierge and on nonprofit boards including Global LA, Kairos: Democracy Project, National Foster Youth Institute, People For the American Way, and VoteRiders. Appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, she is Vice Chair of the Entertainment Industry Council, focused on retaining film production in Los Angeles while building a diverse and sustainable industry pipeline.

In 2019, Parker co-founded Yes2Jobs, a nonprofit advancing economic mobility for youth in under-resourced communities by creating career pathways in entertainment and media, technology, e-sports, and finance.

Her extensive public service also includes serving as Board President of the Getty House Foundation, supporting brain cancer research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center through The Brain Trust, and serving on the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee. Her environmental advocacy includes research presented at the UN Copenhagen Climate Conference, and she is published in Employment Relations Today for her article “VOW to Hire a Veteran.”

A respected political leader and fundraiser, Parker has supported Presidential, Senate, House, and local campaigns. She served as a DNC Presidential Partner, National Co-Chair for Technology for President Obama, and on Mayor Bass’ re-election fundraising committee.

She holds a BA and MA from New York University and is the proud mother of two and grandmother of one.

The Awards of Our Authors Study Club

About our awards

Each year, Our Authors Study Club of Los Angeles (OASC) partners with the City of Los Angeles to open Black History Month with a formal civic ceremony that centers scholarship, living history, and community leadership. Rooted in OASC’s decades-long commitment to historical preservation and public education, the Opening Ceremony presents a distinguished slate of honors that recognize Black excellence across generations, disciplines, and spheres of influence.

Together, these honors affirm that Black history is not only something we remember—it is something we actively witness, steward, and celebrate in real time.

Carter G. Woodson Icon Award

Named for Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History,” this award honors individuals, organizations, or collectives who have become national cultural forces. Recipients embody Woodson’s legacy through groundbreaking achievement, mentorship, and an enduring commitment to elevating Black narratives within the broader American story. The Icon Award bridges history and progress by recognizing contemporary visionaries whose influence spans disciplines and whose work continues to shape cultural understanding at a national level.

African American Living Legends Awards

The Living Legends Awards honor African American elders—generally age 75 and above—whose lives reflect extraordinary professional achievement, service, advocacy, and cultural stewardship. These honorees are living history bearers whose leadership and resilience have strengthened communities across Southern California and beyond. By uplifting elders while they are still with us, OASC affirms the importance of honoring wisdom, experience, and legacy in the present tense.

African American Hall of Fame Induction

Presented in partnership with the Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council, the Hall of Fame Awards formally induct individuals whose contributions have significantly shaped civic life, culture, education, innovation, and social progress. Inductees receive the Inspiration of Life Award, symbolizing their lasting impact and moral leadership. The Hall of Fame serves as OASC’s permanent archive of Black achievement, preserving stories of excellence for future generations.

OASC Origin Award

Formerly known as the Trailblazer Award, the Origin Award honors contemporary Black Angelenos whose work reflects the pioneering spirit of Los Angeles’ original African-descended founders—twenty-six of the city’s forty-four founders. Presented annually at the historic Pico House, the award connects present-day excellence to the city’s earliest Black history, celebrating innovation, craftsmanship, and civic contribution rooted in place and legacy.

A Living Tradition of Recognition

Together, these honors form the ceremonial heart of OASC’s Black History Month Opening Ceremony—an intentional gathering that connects scholarship, civic leadership, and community memory. By recognizing icons, elders, pioneers, and inductees side by side, OASC affirms a core truth: Black history is expansive, intergenerational, and essential to understanding Los Angeles and the nation itself.

Our Authors Study Club of Los Angeles

2027 Theme: “From Black Print Culture to Digital Blackness,”

Honorary and General Chair

Cookie Parker

LIVING LEGEND Award HONOREEs

Ben Vereen

hall of fame Award honorees

Dr. Ryan F. Osborne

Origin Award honoree