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India Gazette
17 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
'We will return to power in 3 years, KCR will be CM again,' declares KTR
Dallas [USA], June 3 (ANI): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K. Tarakarama Rao (KTR) claimed that the party will return to power in the state, and his father, K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), will be the Chief Minister again. Speaking at the occasion of Telangana Formation Day and BRS Silver Jubilee celebrations held at the Dr Pepper Arena (Comerica Centre) in Dallas, USA, KTR highlighted the achievements under the leadership of KCR. According to an official statement, speaking on Telangana Formation Day and remembering the struggle to statehood, KTR said, 'Many dream, but few make dreams reality. Just as you chased your dreams, in 2001, a man dreamed not for himself but for four crore Telangana people. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar's call to educate, organise, and agitate, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream,' KCR, the lone warrior, began this journey, vowing, 'Stone me to death if I abandon this movement.' 'In three years, we will return to power, and KCR will be Chief Minister again,' he added. According to an official statement, quoting the timeless adage, 'Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gariyasi' (Mother and motherland are greater than heaven), KTR began his address, urging NRIs to excel in their fields abroad while also giving back to their motherland. He called on them to invest in Telangana, stating that the state's journey proves nothing is impossible with determination, resolve, and sincerity. KTR vividly recounted the 14-year relentless struggle led by K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), the architect of the Telangana movement, which turned the state into India's number one in just ten years. KTR showcased how Telangana, once neglected and downtrodden due to decades of discrimination under united rule, blossomed into a prosperous, verdant, and vibrant state under KCR's governance. Addressing challenges faced by Telugu students in the U.S. due to Trump-era policies, he assured that BRS would stand by them, announcing the formation of a legal cell to support and protect them in every way. As per the official statement, Rao said, 'The same enthusiasm seen in Telangana during its decennial celebrations is palpable in Dallas today. This is not just a celebration but an occasion to honour the sacrifices of martyrs and every individual who poured their all into achieving Telangana statehood.' KTR lauded the enthusiasm of the NRIs and remembered his earlier visit to Dallas. He said, 'When we decided to celebrate Telangana Formation Day, NRIs unanimously chose Dallas. Today, seeing your enthusiasm and thousands of you gathered here, I don't feel like I'm in America--I feel like I'm in Hyderabad. In 2015, I came to Dallas seeking investments for Telangana. With confidence and faith in our future, we fulfilled our promises and achieved even more, which fills us with pride.' Lauding the governance in BRS' stint in power, he said, 'Under KCR, we seized every opportunity to make Telangana number one. We may have lagged in votes recently, but never in loving Telangana. In power or opposition, for us, Telangana is first, India is first.' 'With schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima, we prevented farmer suicides, setting a national example. KCR's rule turned migration into reverse migration. Today's wonders stem from KCR's vision--while others debated if Telangana would come, he planned what to do when it did,' he added. We take pride in NRIs excelling across fields in America. You carry the fragrance of Telangana's soil, shining thousands of miles away. Your talent, skill, and wisdom wave the Telangana flag high. Salutations to you--gems of Telangana, beloved children of India, and beacons of Telugu brilliance. In his speech, KTR also remembered the former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, saying he reshaped India's destiny and his legacy endures. On the economic front, he said, 'In 10 years, Telangana shone with riches, feeding the nation. With 2.5% of India's population, we contribute 5% to GDP--a pride for every Telugu child. From 4.5 lakh crore GSDP in 2014 to 15 lakh crore when we left power, no state matched our 238% growth. Per capita income rose from 1.12 lakh in 2013-14 to 3.56 lakh in 2023. NITI Aayog reports multidimensional poverty dropped from 13.18% in 2015-16 to 3.76% in 2023-24--a 10% reduction in eight years, unmatched in India.' 'KCR revolutionised irrigation. Kaleshwaram, the world's largest lift irrigation project, revived canals and the Sriramsagar Project. China took 16 years for the Three Gorges Dam; we built Kaleshwaram in four. It's not one barrage but three, with 19 reservoirs, 21 pump houses, 203 km of tunnels, 1,531 km of canals, and 141 TMC storage. Congress calls it a failure over two pillars--stop this propaganda, use this water bounty, we urge on behalf of farmers. Kaleshwaram lifts Godavari waters from 80m to 618m above sea level. Palamuru-Rangareddy project, 90% done, blesses south Telangana, but Congress stalls the rest 10% to deny KCR credit,' he said as per the official statement. He said, 'We topped Ease of Doing Business. Google, Amazon, Uber, Salesforce, and Apple set up their second-largest campuses in Hyderabad. IT exports rose from 57,000 crores in 2014 to 2.41 lakh crore in 2023, and IT jobs from 3.23 lakh to 9.46 lakh. We led in life sciences, too.' (ANI)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Khloe Kardashian Shows Up for Tristan Thompson's Brother Amari In a Big Way
Khloe Kardashian Shows Up for Tristan Thompson's Brother Amari In a Big Way originally appeared on WeHaveKids. It doesn't matter that Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson have called it quits, because Koko is always going to be a part of Thompson's little brother's life. After Thompson's mother died, the former NBA star became a fulltime caregiver for his brother Amari. Kardashian immediately offered her former beau her support when that happened, and the trio have been spending time together ever since. This week, Kardashian showed just how big of a part of Amari's life she still is by attending his dance recital, which she even posted about on her social media platform. Related: Khloe Kardashian Shares How She Teachers Her Daughter to Deal With Jealousy Around Her Famous Cousins The mother of two shared some sweet moments from the dance recital, which featured 18-year-old Amari participating from his wheelchair. In one clip, ABBA's "I Have a Dream" played in the background, and Kardashian added a note to the clip sharing about how "happy" Amari was during his performance. In another video, Kardashian caught another ABBA number on film, writing, 'Thank you Lord for these blessings." The recital turned into a full on family affair for the reality stars, and other photos from the evening also featured Kris Jenner. Anyone who follows The Kardashians series on Hulu has had a front row seat to everything that has happened with Amari, including how Koko stepped in to help Thompson manage everything when his mother unexpectedly died, leaving the teen in his care. It seems like the arrangement has worked out for everyone involved, and that Amari now has two families keeping his best interest at heart. Unfortunately for fans of Koko and Thompson's on-again/off-again relationship, it's unlikely that this will be enough to bring the former love birds back together. But, with two children, we'll still get to see plenty of them as they continue to navigate their co-parenting relationship! Up Next:Khloe Kardashian Shows Up for Tristan Thompson's Brother Amari In a Big Way first appeared on WeHaveKids on May 30, 2025 This story was originally reported by WeHaveKids on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Protests Should Be Promises
African Americans boarding a newly integrated bus through the once-forbidden front door, following Supreme Court ruling ending successful 381 day boycott of segragated buses, Dec. 5 1956, Montgomery, AL. Credit - Don Cravens—Getty Images In a 1857 speech celebrating the 25th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Britain's Caribbean colonies, Frederick Douglass made one of his most famous statements: 'Power concedes nothing without a demand.' The force of the point was not lost on the largely Black crowd that had gathered in upstate New York to hear Douglass' speech—they had yet to win their struggle against slavery in the United States. In fact, Douglass was writing in the wake of significant setbacks for the abolitionist cause, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which denied people freed of slavery basic rights of trial by jury or habeas corpus while allowing them to be hunted across state lines. Douglass, however, was reminding his audience not to confuse 'outward and hollow seemings of humility and repentance' with the real target of social change: By concerted, protracted struggle, in whatever forms were necessary. Today's protesters and advocates against police brutality and structural racism are the inheritors of this same moral force. As in Douglass' day, activists are hoping to make major structural changes: to substantially reform or even totally abolish institutions like prisons and police. And as in Douglass' day, they face an uphill battle against entrenched political and financial interests. For them to succeed, they need to heed Douglass' warning: That for protests to succeed, they must be backed by movements with the ability to promise to withhold—labor, debt payments, rent payments, or consumer support—and to follow through if demands aren't met. Protests by such movements consequently morph into real, tangible promises: demonstrations of an ability to escalate, backed by strategic leverage. References to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his iconic 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech are ubiquitous in American politics, as are the images and moral legacy of the peaceful marches for justice associated with his approach to politics. We who protested in the summer of 2020 after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade lived up to this aspect of the legacy, drawing vast multitudes of people to demand an end to injustices. By one estimate, 15 to 26 million people participated in the protests that raged that summer. And, just as in Selma in 1965, demonstrators were confronted with violence: indiscriminate use of pepper spray, tear gas, and life-altering rubber bullets to stand up against police brutality under the banner of slogans like 'defund the police' and 'Black lives matter.' The protests weren't for nothing: 20 cities cut police funds in some form in at least a temporary fashion; protestors in Seattle were able to win tens of millions toward a grassroots effort to let the public decide directly what and how to spend its money on public safety. But despite mobilizing an unprecedented number of Americans to the cause, and a brief interlude filled with the symbolism of task forces on racism and shoring up of diversity commitments from corporations, the political landscape that has developed in the years since is antithetical to the chants and signs of the 2020 protest movement. Local police were not defunded; besides the 20 holdouts, police budgets generally increased the very next year after the protests, and the recent pivot of President Donald Trump's administration to a project of mass deportation has begun to draw local law enforcement into the '100 mile border zone' in which federal immigration enforcement agents are allowed to execute its full powers—a zone that encompasses fully two thirds of the American population. The Trump administration has also engaged in a full-scale assault on laws and executive orders that were key victories in the Civil Rights era struggle against segregation and discrimination. What's missing from the formula this time was a promise to withhold—a tactic that also proved successful, but perhaps less commonly heralded, in the civil rights movement::: For instance, the 'I Have A Dream' speech was made at a march for Jobs and Freedom—pairing a fight for fairness and inclusion with a fight over wealth and economic opportunity. Accordingly, the March for Jobs and Freedom was initiated by labor organizer and union founder A. Philip Randolph and organized by unionists in the Negro American Labor Council. In fact, the march itself was modeled off a plan Randolph and his co-workers had made back in 1941, the credible threat of which forced then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to concede the important anti-discrimination executive order to desegregate the war industry to avoid Randolph's promised strike (executive orders which Trump repealed in his very first days of his second term). For the 1963 version of the march, the Negro American Labor Council brought together an important group of organizational allies pairing King (representing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference) with support from organizations including the NAACP, the Urban League, and the United Auto Workers. What was key to the success of that march was also what the '63 march shared in common with the planned march in 1941: The credible threat of disrupting business as usual that the organizations behind it represented. Such mobilizations might start with marches, but could advance elsewhere—for instance, King's SCLC had itself been born out of the proven success of the Montgomery bus boycott, and the inclusion of the Negro American Labor Union alongside major unions like the UAW meant the possibility of major strike actions if the demands were not met, including the possibility of a 'general strike' across all workers, like the UAW has called for today. They were 'demonstrations' in the fullest sense of the word—proof of how many people these organizations could mobilize, and how militantly they could be mobilized. They were promises about the kind of escalation the powers that could be expected if demands were not met, not just performances of dissatisfaction. The 2020 protests involved a lot of commitment by brave citizens, but largely did not have this kind of organizational base––the kind that could potentially impose the costs of a concerted strike or boycott. This helps to explain why the protests got the 'the low-hanging fruit of symbolic transformation', as Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor wrote a year after the George Floyd protests, in response rather than loftier goals like, say, defunding the police. Those of us disappointed about the outcomes of the 2020 matches are not alone. As Vincent Bevins chronicles in his 2024 book If We Burn, many protest movements across the world in recent years have faced similar drawbacks, for similar reasons: decentralized, social media-based approaches were effective in harnessing attention and organizing street demonstrations. But they couldn't steer the response of the system in the protests' intended direction because there was no organizational support. All we got was black squares on Instagram. The very commitments that allowed the movements to garner attention and spectacle proved stumbling blocks once the cameras stopped rolling and only tanks and bullets remained. None of this means that we've run out of time to course correct. There are encouraging signs even amid the worsening political landscape: While the protests may not have swayed policymakers, history suggests that the initial conservative backlash of the public was followed eventually by a progressive shift in voting behavior. This evidence suggests that, as with the civil rights movement, the long run may favor the movement—at least those people and organizations that survive long enough to reap the benefits of a more favorable audience. The organizations that survive may be able to direct political conversation and set the agenda for course correction in the aftermath of continued overreach from the present administration. Above all, they can apply an approach to politics more like the one that succeeded in the civil rights movement or in Douglass' vision of abolition—protests that withhold and promise, rather than merely perform. This may prove indispensable in the years to come. Táíwò is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations. This project was supported by funding from the Center for Policing Equity. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cabarrus commissioner misses meeting as judge mulls validity of her appointment
A newly appointed Cabarrus County commissioner was absent for her second board meeting Tuesday as the validity of her appointment remains in limbo. LaMarie Austin-Stripling was not able to take the oath of office after North Carolina Superior Court Judge Steven Warren issued a temporary restraining order against her on April 15. His order came after Cabarrus Citizens for Government Integrity filed a lawsuit against the county, challenging whether commissioners followed the proper appointment process. The restraining order expires on April 25. A hearing was held for the case on Monday and the judge is expected to make a decision by Friday, according to court documents. Warren wrote in his order that the case could have enough merit to win. Though no commissioners brought up the lawsuit or Austin-Stripling's absence at the Tuesday evening Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners meeting, Cabarrus County Republican Party Vice Chair Jim Quick used public comment time to compare the lawsuit and controversy to racism, even quoting Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech. 'I also look forward to a day where the people of Cabarrus County will not be judged solely on the intensity of their MAGA red hue or progressive blue tint, but rather by the content of their character,' he said. Austin-Stripling was recommended by the Cabarrus GOP — where she serves as treasurer — to replace former commissioner Chris Measmer on the board. Measmer, who was sworn into office as a North Carolina senator April 15, had not yet vacated his seat when the commission appointed Austin-Stripling. Measmer himself voted 'present' at the meeting, which counted as an affirmative vote. The lawsuit, filed April 14, states the commission violated state law when it held a meeting to appoint Austin-Stripling before Measmer had resigned. 'Three BOC members acted in concert to blatantly and knowingly violate state law and the BOC's own Rules of Procedure to ensure that a 'predicted' vacancy on the BOC would not be filled by a political opponent,' the lawsuit states. County Attorney Daniel Peterson said at the time Measmer had a right to vote as long as he was still a member of the commission. Peterson has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer. The April 10 meeting, where three present commissioners voted in favor of Austin-Stripling, was set less than 72 hours after Measmer announced he would leave the board. Commissioner Lynn Shue, who receives dialysis, said he believes the meeting was intentionally set at 8 a.m. so he would not be able to attend. Commissioner Kenny Wortman, a vocal critic of Measmer, was also absent from the meeting. Wortman said in a phone call with the Observer Tuesday morning the board had the potential to revote on the appointment Tuesday night since Measmer had left. The vote could nullify the lawsuit and save taxpayer money on legal fees, he said. No such vote ultimately occurred. If the appointment was brought to a revote and commissioners tied, it would be up to Clerk of Court Bill Baggs to make the decision. If the commission does not fill the vacant seat within 20 days as required by state law, the decision would also be left to Baggs.
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
21 Civil Rights Activists Who Changed History
Throughout history, progress has never been inevitable but has always been the result of bold, determined advocates willing to challenge the systems that confined them. From the days of slavery to the halls of Congress, many civil rights activists have shaped the conscience of nations and redrawn the maps of moral possibility. Some changed the world in the past and others are doing it now. Past and present, these 20 civil rights leaders have bent the arc of history with their voices, bodies, brilliance and rejection to be silenced. Their legacies serve as a blueprint for future generations committed to justice and equity. Born in 1929 in Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and theologian who became the moral compass of the Civil Rights Movement. His ideology was rooted in the principles of nonviolence, inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Christian theology, forming the blueprint of his leadership style. With a voice that incorporated prophetic clarity and scholarly rigor, King organized and led monumental campaigns like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Birmingham campaign and the March on Washington. His sermons and speeches, particularly the iconic 'I Have a Dream,' delivered in 1963 to over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, gave spiritual urgency to the legal and political demand for racial equality. But apart from being a dreamer, King was also a radical tactician who understood the intersections of race, poverty and war. His work helped push forward milestone legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In his final years, King turned his attention toward economic justice and opposition to the Vietnam War, launching the Poor People's Campaign to build a multiracial coalition of the working class. Although he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, his legacy remains a global symbol of peaceful resistance and transformative change. Streets, schools and monuments bear his name, but more importantly, so do the movements that continue to fight for the justice he envisioned. Often hailed as the 'Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,' Rosa Parks became a national icon in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. Born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, Parks was far from a passive bystander; she was an intentional organizer, a trained investigator for sexual assault cases against Black women and the secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. Before the incident on the bus, Parks had long grown weary of the daily humiliations of segregation and was carefully chosen to be the face of a legal challenge against the city's transit laws. Her arrest inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day mass protest that affected the city's transportation system, drew national attention to Southern racism and elevated a 26-year-old minister named Martin Luther King Jr. to the national stage. Parks's quiet courage exposed the brutality of Jim Crow and gave credibility to the power of dignity and determination. She endured death threats, lost her job and was forced to relocate to Detroit for safety, yet she continued her activism for decades, fighting housing discrimination, supporting political prisoners and advocating for justice beyond the South. Parks died on October 24, 2005, but her 'disobedience' represents how ordinary people can inspire extraordinary change. Born Malcolm Little in 1925, Malcolm X overcame a troubled past to become one of the most electrifying voices of Black self-determination in the 20th century. After enduring a childhood marked by racial violence and the death of his father, suspected to have been murdered by white supremacists, Malcolm spent time in foster homes and later in prison, where he educated himself and converted to Islam. As a minister in the Nation of Islam, he challenged the pacifism of the mainstream civil rights movement, encouraging Black Americans to defend themselves 'by any means necessary.' His impassioned speeches, sharp intellect and militant stance on Black empowerment offered a resolute counterpoint to the integrationist messages of the era. Later in life, after breaking with the Nation, Malcolm adopted a broader, Pan-African vision of justice and unity. A pilgrimage to Mecca transformed his worldview, and he began to build coalitions with African and non-Muslim Black leaders around the globe. He advocated for human rights on the world stage and began reframing racism as a global issue, not just an American one. His assassination in 1965 cut short a brilliant, evolving political mind, and even today, his legacy lives on in movements that prioritize Black autonomy, radical truth-telling and global solidarity. Fannie Lou Hamer was a Mississippi sharecropper turned fierce voting rights activist whose courage helped turn the trajectory of the Civil Rights Movement. Born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, Hamer didn't enter the movement as an academic or politician but as a working-class Black woman who knew firsthand the violence of systemic disenfranchisement. In 1962, after attending a voter registration meeting led by the SNCC, she was fired from her job, evicted from her home, and later brutally beaten in jail by police, an assault that left her with permanent injuries. Yet, she refused to be silenced. Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), a political alternative to unseat the all-white Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Her testimony before the credentials committee, broadcast live on television, detailed the racist terror she endured simply for trying to vote. 'I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired,' she declared, a line that would stick with the movement. Although the MFDP was not seated at the convention, Hamer had exposed the moral rot at the heart of American democracy. Her work helped pave the way for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and she continued to organize long after the cameras were gone, founding Freedom Farm Cooperative to fight poverty and food insecurity in her community. Hamer's legacy lives on in today's grassroots movements, specifically because she made it clear that poor Black women weren't just foot soldiers in the movement but were the soul of it. A master strategist and committed pacifist, Bayard Rustin was the architect behind many of the civil rights movement's most important victories, notably the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech. Born in 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Rustin was raised by Quaker grandparents who instilled in him the principles of nonviolence and equality. Rustin was a trusted advisor and mentor to King, helping to refine King's understanding of nonviolent direct action and introducing him to Gandhian philosophy. Despite his brilliance, Rustin was deliberately sidelined by many within the movement due to his open homosexuality and previous ties to socialism because these were seen as vulnerabilities that segregationists and political opponents could exploit. Regardless, Rustin never stopped working. He fought not only for racial justice but also for economic equity, labor rights and anti-colonial struggles around the globe. In his later years, he advocated for LGBTQ rights and worked on international human rights issues. Today, his life is celebrated as a model of intersectional activism that refused to compromise. Angela Davis became prominent in the 1960s and '70s as a renowned scholar, activist and symbol of resistance. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1944, Davis grew up in an environment saturated with both terror and resistance. She studied under German philosopher Herbert Marcuse and was deeply influenced by Marxist, feminist and anti-colonial thought. As a leader in the Communist Party USA and an associate of the Black Panther Party, Davis became a lightning rod for national controversy and state surveillance. In 1970, she was charged in connection with a botched attempt to free incarcerated activists, an incident that ended in a deadly shootout at a California courthouse. Although she had no direct involvement, she was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list and became the subject of a global 'Free Angela' campaign. Her eventual acquittal was a landmark moment in Black radical organizing and secured her place in history as a global icon. Davis's writings and activism have long challenged the prison-industrial complex, calling for the complete abolition of incarceration as a form of justice. She has also been a trailblazer in Black feminism, linking issues of race, gender, class and sexuality decades before the term 'intersectionality' was popularized. Today, her voice remains a moral and intellectual force in conversations around police brutality, mass incarceration and the failures of reform. John Lewis, born in 1940 in Troy, Alabama, was a son of sharecroppers who became one of the most courageous and enduring voices of the Civil Rights Movement. Deeply inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was only in his early twenties when he became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), where he helped organize the Freedom Rides, risked his life challenging segregation at lunch counters and became the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington. His commitment to nonviolent protest was tested repeatedly, most harrowingly on March 7, 1965, when he led over 600 peaceful demonstrators across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. There, state troopers brutally attacked the marchers in what became known as 'Bloody Sunday.' Lewis suffered a skull fracture, but his resolve only grew stronger. Rather than just give up, Lewis transitioned his fight from the streets to the halls of Congress, where he served Georgia's 5th Congressional District for over three decades. In office, he championed voting rights, civil liberties, health care and education, all while encouraging younger generations to engage in 'good trouble'—his term for necessary, moral resistance. Until his passing in 2020, Lewis remained a moral beacon in American politics. His legacy is not just memorialized in books or bridges, but in every voter registration drive, protest march and fearless act of democratic defiance. Ella Baker, born in 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, was the quiet architect behind some of the most powerful and people-centered work in the Civil Rights Movement. With a sharp mind for strategy and an unwavering belief in collective leadership, she worked alongside giants like W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr., but always prioritized the voices at the grassroots. Baker was a field secretary and later director of branches for the NAACP, then helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), where she became disillusioned by the organization's top-down leadership style. In 1960, after witnessing the rise of student sit-ins across the South, she helped launch the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), where her mentorship proved crucial to the next generation of young organizers. Baker rejected celebrity leadership in favor of empowering everyday people to shape their liberation. Her philosophy—that 'strong people don't need strong leaders'—helped create a decentralized model of organizing that influenced the Black Power movement and modern social justice movements like Black Lives Matter. She passed away in 1986, but her radical vision inspires current movements. Fred Hampton was just 21 years old when he was assassinated by law enforcement, but in his short life, he became one of the most electrifying and visionary leaders the civil rights and Black liberation movements had ever seen. Born in 1948 in Illinois, Hampton rose quickly through the ranks of the Black Panther Party, becoming chairman of the Illinois chapter and deputy chairman of the national organization. A gifted speaker with a talent for coalition-building, Hampton created the original Rainbow Coalition. This multiracial alliance united Black, Latino and poor white groups in Chicago under a shared vision of community empowerment and political resistance. Hampton's organizing went far beyond ideology. He was a tactician who implemented free breakfast programs for children, established community medical clinics and taught political education classes—initiatives that impacted underserved neighborhoods. His ability to speak truth to power made him a threat. In 1969, the FBI, in coordination with the Chicago Police Department, orchestrated a pre-dawn raid on his apartment. Hampton was shot in his bed, next to his pregnant fiancée. His murder revealed the extent of the government's surveillance and sabotage of Black leaders through the COINTELPRO program. Today, Hampton's legacy is one of revolutionary love, community and the audacity to imagine a liberated future. Before Rosa Parks took a stand by sitting down, there was Claudette Colvin—a 15-year-old high school student in Montgomery, Alabama, who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in March 1955. Arrested and forcibly removed, Colvin was full of righteous defiance. She had been studying Black history at school and later said she felt the spirit of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth pushing her to resist. Despite her bravery, Colvin was largely erased from public memory due to her age, class background and because she became pregnant out of wedlock shortly after the incident. Still, Colvin was one of four plaintiffs in the Browder v. Gayle case, which ultimately led to the desegregation of Montgomery's bus system and provided the legal foundation for Parks's more publicized protest. Colvin lived in relative obscurity for decades, working as a nurse's aide in New York. In recent years, however, she has finally begun to receive the recognition she long deserved. Her story reminds us that history often sidelines those who don't fit its sanitized narrative—and that young Black girls have always been on the front lines of change, whether or not their names make it into textbooks. Kimberlé Crenshaw is a pioneering legal scholar whose work has permanently changed how we think about justice, identity and power. Born in 1959, Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality to describe how multiple systems of oppression, like racism, sexism and classism, interact and compound each other. Her critical analysis emerged from legal cases like DeGraffenreid v. General Motors, where Black women were left unprotected because courts failed to see how race and gender discrimination could co-occur. As a law professor at UCLA and Columbia University, Crenshaw has trained generations of students to recognize the limitations of traditional legal frameworks and push for more expansive, inclusive advocacy. Beyond academia, her influence has reached social justice movements across the globe. Today, she continues to call out the erasure of Black women in public discourse and policymaking—reminding the world that any liberation effort that excludes the most marginalized cannot truly be called justice. Bryan Stevenson is a civil rights attorney, visionary and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit dedicated to ending mass incarceration and defending the wrongly condemned. Born in 1959 in Delaware, Stevenson came of age in a deeply segregated America and turned his legal acumen into a lifelong mission to expose the racial and economic biases embedded in the criminal justice system. His representation of Walter McMillian, wrongfully sentenced to death in Alabama, generated national attention and inspired the book and film Just Mercy. But Stevenson's impact extends beyond the courtroom. Through EJI, he founded the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, institutions that confront visitors with America's long, brutal history of slavery, lynching and racial terrorism. Stevenson's work offers both a legal and moral reckoning, challenging America to reform its institutions and to remember and repair its past. Patrisse Cullors, born and raised in Los Angeles, is a queer artist, abolitionist and community organizer who helped ignite a global movement. In 2013, she co-founded #BlackLivesMatter alongside Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The hashtag became a rallying cry and organizing framework for millions worldwide. But Cullors' work began long before that—organizing around police brutality, housing insecurity and prison abolition in Black and brown communities in Los Angeles. A practitioner of transformative justice, Cullors fuses spirituality, performance art and direct action into a form of resistance. Her work has not been without controversy or attack, but she remains a powerful example of how cultural work, grassroots organizing and collective healing can fuel movements for systemic change. Tamika Mallory is a firebrand speaker, lifelong organizer and one of the most prominent voices for Black liberation in the 21st century. Born in 1980 and raised in Harlem, Mallory was introduced to activism early—her parents were founding members of Al Sharpton's National Action Network, where she eventually became the youngest-ever executive director. After co-chairing the historic 2017 Women's March—the largest single-day protest in U.S. history—Mallory emerged as a national figure in the fight against systemic racism. She has since taken center stage at demonstrations for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, channeling righteous anger and strategic clarity. Her viral speech in Minneapolis in 2020 remains one of the most searing indictments of state violence in recent memory. Mallory's activism is rooted in legacy and innovation—a torchbearer for past generations and a lightning rod for the future. Brittany Packnett Cunningham blends classroom wisdom, media savvy and on-the-ground activism into one of the most dynamic voices in modern civil rights. A former elementary school teacher and policy leader, Packnett first gained national attention during the Ferguson protests in 2014, where she became a leading advocate for police accountability following the killing of Michael Brown. President Obama later appointed her to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing, where she worked to craft policy rooted in community protection, not over-policing. As a political commentator, podcaster and writer, Packnett uses her platforms to dissect injustice, amplify marginalized voices and challenge America to confront its contradictions. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi has become one of this generation's most important public intellectuals, reshaping national conversations on racism, policy and personal accountability. Born in 1982, Kendi is a historian, professor and the author of How to Be an Antiracist. This bestseller redefined racism as not merely an issue of individual bias but of policy. His work dismantles the notion of neutrality, arguing that inaction in the face of racism is itself a form of complicity. As the founding director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, Kendi leads interdisciplinary efforts to expose and eradicate racial inequality across sectors. His writing is well-researched and authentically human, grounded in his experiences as a Black man in America, a cancer survivor and a scholar existing in spaces not built for him. In an era when historical truth is under attack, Kendi insists that we name injustice plainly—and fight it relentlessly. Tarana Burke is the founder of the original Me Too movement, a phrase and framework she began using in 2006 to build solidarity among survivors of sexual violence—particularly young Black girls and women in under-resourced communities. A Bronx-born organizer and longtime advocate for gender and racial justice, Burke's work was thrust into the global spotlight in 2017 when #MeToo went viral. But Burke quickly reclaimed the narrative, reminding the world that this movement was born from Black pain and healing, not Hollywood scandal. She has spent decades doing the slow, often invisible work of survivor support, trauma education and narrative reclamation. Her impact lies not only in what she started but in what she has protected: the sanctity of survivor stories and the radical notion that justice must include those at the margins. Clad in a now-iconic blue vest and wielding the power of Twitter, DeRay Mckesson emerged as one of the most visible and media-savvy activists of the Ferguson uprising in 2014. A former school administrator from Baltimore, Mckesson used social media to document police violence in real time, drawing national and international attention to the unrest in Missouri after the death of Michael Brown. But he didn't stop at protesting, he co-founded Campaign Zero, a policy platform offering data-driven solutions to police brutality, and has remained a voice in the debate over reform versus abolition. Mckesson embodies a new generation of civil rights leadership that is digital, data-informed and unapologetically public. His presence on the front lines and talk shows reflects a shifting terrain where activism is no longer confined to one lane. Opal Tometi, a Nigerian-American human rights advocate and strategist, is one of the three co-founders of Black Lives Matter. Raised in Arizona by Nigerian immigrants, Tometi's activism has always had a global perspective. Before co-founding BLM, she worked with immigrant rights organizations, including the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, where she fought for the dignity and legal protection of Black immigrants. Tometi played a prominent role in turning BLM from a hashtag into a decentralized international movement with over 40 chapters. Her work emphasizes that the fight against anti-Black racism transcends borders and requires transnational solidarity. Whether addressing racial injustice in the U.S. or xenophobia abroad, Tometi's activism is a powerful reminder that Black lives matter everywhere. Alicia Garza coined the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' in a 2013 Facebook post—a call to action and affirmation that became the banner for a global movement. A longtime community organizer based in Oakland, Garza has dedicated her life to issues ranging from police brutality and economic justice to LGBTQ+ rights and housing equity. Beyond her role in founding BLM, she established the Black Futures Lab, an organization aimed at expanding Black political power and collecting data that reflects the real needs of Black communities. Garza approaches activism with strategy, heart and respect for those who came before her. Her work centers on the power of Black people to survive and influence the future. Harriet Tubman was born Araminta 'Minty' Ross around 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland. Born into slavery, Tubman was one of nine children to enslaved parents Harriet Green and Ben Ross. Her early years were marked by hardship, as she was subjected to physical and emotional abuse from an early age. One of the most defining moments of her early life occurred as a teenager. While trying to protect another enslaved person from being punished, she was struck in the head by a heavy metal weight thrown by an overseer. This traumatic injury caused her to suffer from severe headaches, seizures and visions for the rest of her life, visions that she often interpreted as divine messages guiding her. Despite the brutality she endured, Tubman was strong-willed and determined to gain her freedom. In 1849, she escaped slavery, leaving behind her family. She traveled nearly 90 miles to Pennsylvania, a free state, using the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses and abolitionists who helped enslaved individuals escape to freedom. Escaping slavery in 1849, Tubman made over 13 missions to rescue more than 70 enslaved individuals, leading them to freedom. Tubman's fearless activism led to the eventual abolition of slavery and inspired later generations of civil rights leaders. Her legacy is honored through books, films and schools. Bottom Line These 21 activists, some etched into history books and others still working on the front lines, prove to us what courage and action can achieve in real time. They dismantled systems, built new ones, and offered blueprints for liberation. They spoke, organized, wept, resisted, and led, not because it was easy but because it was necessary. In their careers and advocacy, we see both the cost and the promise of justice.
