Theron Goynes was born August 20, 1929 in Texarkana, Texas. He attended college at Texas A & M University, was in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), served in the United States Air Force, and then became an educator. Goynes met his future wife, Naomi Jackson, in Nashville, Arkansas where they were both young teachers in 1956.

Hermina Washington was born December 23, 1957 in Henderson, Nevada. To take advantage of emerging opportunities for African Americans, her parents migrated from Arkansas to Las Vegas, Nevada, joining several extended family members already settled in the city. Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, Washington was surrounded by strong, inspiring role models, including her grandmother and educators.

Penelope "Pennie" Ruchman is a long-time gaming and casino professional who graduated from in 1977 from Oberlin College's Creative Writing and American Literature honors program. Following graduation, Ruchman moved to New York City, New York to work as a photographer where she apprenticed for Irving Penn and Arnold Newman before embarking on a career of creating her own artwork, holding one-woman exhibitions throughout the country.

Lawrence Canarelli was born in Roseburg, Oregon shortly after World War II. His family had no money and lived in a tent on the Umpqua River, foraging and living day-to-day. After their tent and everything they owned burned down, Canarelli’s family moved to various logging camps through Oregon and California. His father quit his job and unexpectedly left the family, leaving the 21-year old mother no choice but to put Canarelli and his three siblings in a Pentecostal orphanage.