Activists

Larry Kramer was a writer and activist who drew attention to the AIDS crisis that disproportionately killed gay men and trans women in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Gilbert Baker is an artist and LGBTQ rights activist who created the rainbow flag.

Riz Ahmed is an Emmy and Oscar-winning actor and rapper, best known for his roles in 'Nightcrawler' (2014) and 'Sound of Metal' (2019) and on television in 'The Night Of' (2016).

Russian lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny has endured imprisonment and an assassination attempt as a high-profile opposition leader to the United Russia party.

Sadie Alexander was an American economist, lawyer and civil rights advocate who achieved multiple firsts as a Black woman in the 20th century.

American Zaya Wade stepped into the public arena as a trans girl in 2020 and has become a well-known young member of the transgender community.

Barbara Bush is the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and the twin sister of author and media personality Jenna Bush Hager.

Randy Shilts was a journalist and author who covered issues important to the LGBT community, including the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States.

Activist Cleve Jones was mentored by Harvey Milk and came up with the idea for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Larry Itliong was a Filipino American organizer and community leader who played an important role in the farm labor movement, including the Delano Grape Strike of the 1960s.

Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American citizen who stood up for his civil rights during World War II when the government detained him because of his Japanese ancestry.

Bree Newsome is an artist and Black activist who entered the national spotlight when she climbed a flagpole at the South Carolina Capitol grounds to remove a Confederate battle flag in 2015.

Civil rights activist Cecil B. Moore's work with the NAACP and other actions helped make Philadelphia a more equitable place to live for its Black residents.

Fred Hampton was a leader in the Black Panther Party who was harassed and targeted by local law enforcement and the FBI, resulting in his murder during a police raid on his apartment on December 4, 1969.

Carole Baskin is an animal rights activist who runs the Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary. Her appearance in the docuseries 'Tiger King' brought new attention to her advocacy but also spotlighted her rivalry with Joe Exotic and the disappearance of her second husband.

Emma Tenayuca was an organizer and activist who fought for civil and labor rights for Mexican and Mexican American workers in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1930s.

Dr. Hector Garcia was a physician, military veteran and advocate for the rights of Mexican Americans.

Christine Jorgensen was an American transgender woman who made headlines in the early 1950s for having sex reassignment surgery.

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish climate youth activist who has received worldwide recognition for her efforts to fight climate change.

Sylvia Rivera was a Latina-American drag queen who was a gay and transgender activist in the 1960s and 70s.

Winnie Mandela was the controversial wife of Nelson Mandela who spent her life in varying governmental roles.

As a young girl, Malala Yousafzai defied the Taliban in Pakistan and demanded that girls be allowed to receive an education. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012 but survived. In 2014, she became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Julian Assange came to international attention as the founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

Linda Brown was the child associated with the lead name in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the outlawing of U.S. school segregation in 1954.