Activists
Civil rights activists protesting the segregation of African Americans, environmentalists fighting to save the planet and feminists working to secure women's rights all have one goal in common - making our world a better place. Through raucous protests or quiet persistence in the face of injustice, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony and countless others have devoted their lives to the betterment of mankind.
Gilbert Baker
Gilbert Baker is an artist and LGBTQ rights activist who created the rainbow flag.
Alexei Navalny
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
Sadie Alexander was an American economist, lawyer and civil rights advocate who achieved multiple firsts as a Black woman in the 20th century.
Barbara Bush
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
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.
Cleve Jones
Activist Cleve Jones was mentored by Harvey Milk and came up with the idea for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
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Larry Itliong
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
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
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.
Cecil B. Moore
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
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
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
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.
Hector Garcia
Dr. Hector Garcia was a physician, military veteran and advocate for the rights of Mexican Americans.
Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen was an American transgender woman who made headlines in the early 1950s for having sex reassignment surgery.
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish climate youth activist who has received worldwide recognition for her efforts to fight climate change.
Sylvia Rivera
Sylvia Rivera was a Latina-American drag queen who was a gay and transgender activist in the 1960s and 70s.
Winnie Mandela
Winnie Mandela was the controversial wife of Nelson Mandela who spent her life in varying governmental roles.
Malala Yousafzai
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
Julian Assange came to international attention as the founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
Linda Brown
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.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a journalist and environmentalist who helped defend the Florida Everglades.