Butler, Octavia (Pasadena) The African-American feminist science fiction author who won a MacArthur "genius" grant
Ellison, Harlan (Cleveland) The author of "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" and 'A Boy and His Dog'
Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (Keyser) The Harvard professor and African-American scholar who was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2009
Locke, Alain LeRoy (Philadelphia) The African-American editor called "the father of the Harlem Renaissance"
Luce, Clare Boothe (New York City) Socialite, playwright, ambassador and wife of publisher Henry Luce
Schmich, Mary (Savannah) The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist who wrote the "Wear Sunscreen" e-mail essay
Wolfe, Tom (Richmond) The author of 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' and 'The Bonfire of the Vanities'