When Cecil Williams was born 90 years ago, his mother instinctively knew he would become a preacher. As an adult, Cecil began working at a church in San Francisco's Tenderloin but was disappointed to see it turn people away, rather than welcome them. He set out to create a different kind of community. Williams shares his Brief But Spectacular take on humanity and how everybody is somebody.

John Bates is a naturalist who sees his professional purpose as enabling people to develop environmental literacy. Since 2003, Bates has been particularly interested in old-growth forests, made up of trees that are hundreds of years old at minimum. Bates shares his Brief But Spectacular take on helping others “fall more deeply in love with the world” and connecting time through old-growth forests.

Poet Tongo Eisen-Martin was born and raised in San Francisco, a city whose rapid gentrification he critiques in his work. Through his writing, Eisen-Martin seeks to “facilitate resistance” to a culture that he believes perpetuates domination of those who are already oppressed. The winner of a California Book Award shares his Brief But Spectacular take on poetry as revolution.

Paul Rucker is an artist who uses his work to shed light on the truth, creating pieces that explore mass incarceration, police brutality and the continuing legacy of slavery in the United States. His career path was highly influenced by the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Rucker shares his Brief But Spectacular take on power, repeating history and the normalizing of systemic racism in America.