Roland Hayes, an internationally acclaimed composer and tenor soloist, was born in 1887 on a plantation in Curryville, Georgia, to a mother who had been enslaved. His musical journey began at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Curryville, and in 1905, he enrolled at Fisk University. By 1911, Hayes was touring with the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a path that brought him to Boston, where he decided to settle and pursue his career. On November 15, 1923, Hayes made history as the first Black artist to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, earning widespread acclaim from critics. 

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A century later, on November 16, 2023, the Heath School in Brookline, Massachusetts—originally named for Heath Street, which happens to share its name with prominent Brookline enslavers—was renamed the Roland Hayes School. The new name was selected by combined student and adult committees based on criteria including a connection to Greater Boston or Brookline, significant contributions to the community, and a dedication to education or educating others.

Howard Thurman was a theologian, educator, and author. He graduated as valedictorian from Morehouse College in 1923 and subsequently attended Colgate Rochester Divinity School. Thurman held several teaching positions, including roles at Howard University, Morehouse, and Spelman Colleges. He would go on to advocate for nonviolence and the importance of finding common ground while recognizing differences—a philosophy inspired by his 1935 meeting with Gandhi in India. In 1952, Boston University invited Thurman to become the dean of Marsh Chapel and a faculty member at the School of Theology, making him the first African American dean of a chapel at a predominantly white institution. While in Boston, he served as a spiritual advisor to several civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was then a doctoral student. In 1983, Boston University established the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground in his honor.

Ruth J. Simmons is a professor of literature and an academic administrator who has served as president of several higher education institutions. From 2001 to 2012, she was the president of Brown University in Rhode Island, becoming the first African American to lead an Ivy League school. One of her significant initiatives at Brown was the establishment of the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice in 2006, which aimed to examine the university's historical ties to slavery and produce a comprehensive report. This report led to significant changes on campus, including the creation of a center for research on slavery and justice, and initiatives to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. As of 2023, Simmons is a senior advisor to Harvard University, focusing on its relationship with HBCUs.

Geraldine Hines is a civil rights attorney and a former justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, from which she retired in 2017. She graduated from Tougaloo College in 1968 and then attended the University of Wisconsin Law School. After earning her law degree, Hines focused on issues such as prisoners' rights, discrimination in education and employment, and police misconduct in communities of color. In 2001, she was a founding partner of the first law firm of women of color in New England. In 2014, Governor Deval Patrick nominated Hines to an associate justice position on the Massachusetts Supreme Court, making her the first African American woman to serve in that role.