| 2008 | Bernice A. King | Brandon Nnodi (Student) |
| 2007 | Dr. Joseph Lowery, civil rights activist | Dr. Spoma Jovanovic (Communication Studies) |
| 2006 | Angela Davis, Black Panther, UC Berkeley, etc. | Rhonda Robinson (Student) |
| 2005 | Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman, former Georgia senator | Kathleen Casey (Educational Leadership & Cultural Foundations) |
| 2004 | Franklin McCain, one of Greensboro Four | Dauvell Evans (Student) |
| 2003 | Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles, Pastor, Monumental Baptist Church, Memphis; was with MLK Jr. during last hour | Patricia J. Bowden (Religious Studies) |
| 2002 | Dr. Jocelyn Elders, first African American woman to be US Surgeon General | Joette Nicole McLaurin (Student) |
| 2001 | Herman Boone, former football coach; inspiration for “Remember the Titans” | Erma Totten (Service Worker, Cone Residence Hall) |
| 2000 | David Dinkins, former mayor of NYC | Robert Earl Randolph, Jr. (Student) |
| 1999 | Manning Marable, historian and author; Professor, Columbia | Patricia L. Bailey (Director, Disability Services) |
| 1998 | Myrlie Evers-Williams, Chair, NAACP; widow of Medgar Evers | Jeffrey Thigpen (Student) |
| 1997 | Shirley Chisholm, former US Representative | Lenora A. Richardson |
| 1996 | Dr. Michael K. Honey | Deardre R. Johnson (Student) |
| 1995 | Dr. Michael E. Dyson, Professor of Communications Studies at UNC-CH | Darrell Wheeler |
| 1994 | Dr. George Subira | Patrice N. Vinson (Student) |
| 1993 | Ms. Naomi Tutu | Carolyn Moore |
| 1992 | Dr. James Cone | Daniel T. “J J” McEachern (Student) |
| 1991 | Rev. Tyrone Crider | Odessa Patrick (Biology) |
| 1990 | Mary Berry | William R. McNeely, Jr. (Student) |
| 1989 | Rev. Ralph Abernathy, associate of MLK Jr. and leader of SCLC | Ernestine Small (Nursing) |
| 1988 | John Lewis, Congressman, Georgia | Bradley Mitchell (Student) |
| 1987 | Dick Gregory, comedian and political activist | Joseph Himes (Sociology) |
