Assata Shakur

Assata Shakur, born Joanne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in New York City, became a prominent figure in the Black Liberation Movement and an iconic symbol of resistance. Shakur’s activism was deeply influenced by her experiences with systemic racism,…

Bobby Seale

Bobby Seale, born on October 22, 1936, in Dallas, Texas, was a co-founder of the Black Panther Party, alongside Huey P. Newton, in 1966. Seale was motivated by the need to address the systemic oppression, racial injustice, and police brutality…

Huey P. Newton

Huey P. Newton, born on February 17, 1942, in Monroe, Louisiana, was a prominent African American revolutionary and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, which he established in 1966 alongside Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. Newton was deeply influenced by…

John Lewis

John Lewis, born on February 21, 1940, in Troy, Alabama, was one of the most prominent leaders of the American civil rights movement. Inspired by the nonviolent teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,…

Ella Baker

Ella Baker, born on December 13, 1903, in Norfolk, Virginia, was one of the most influential and unsung figures in the American civil rights movement. She grew up in a family that valued education and social justice, which shaped her…

Baynard Rustin

Bayard Rustin, born on March 17, 1912, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, was a key figure in the American civil rights movement, known for his organizational genius and commitment to nonviolent protest. Raised in a Quaker household, Rustin was deeply influenced…

Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer, born on October 6, 1917, in Ruleville, Mississippi, was a courageous and passionate civil rights leader whose activism changed the course of history. Raised in poverty as the daughter of sharecroppers, Hamer experienced firsthand the brutal effects…

Angela Davis

Angela Davis, born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama, emerged as one of the most prominent activists and intellectuals in the 1960s and 1970s. Raised in a segregated South, Davis became deeply involved in the civil rights movement at…

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois, born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was a renowned sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and his intellectual contributions played…