Ten Black Activists and Leaders

1. Bayard Rustin (1912 - 1987): “Let us be enraged by injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.”

Bayard Rustin was a Black leader that advocated for civil rights, gay rights, socialism, and nonviolence. Born on March 17, 1912, he became heavily involved in activism in his emerging adolescence, performing an impromptu sit-in protest at a discriminatory restaurant in just his teenage years. He was outspokenly political during his college years, and even notably joined the Young Communist League, a youth branch of the U.S.A.’s Communist Party, solely because they were the “only political party in the 1930s to be fully opposed to segregation.” Though he would soon quit the organization after they attempted to prevent him from protesting racial segregation in the U.S. military, his short involvement placed him on the FBI’s radar.

Rustin was a deeply devoted Quaker (due to his upbringing), which played a major role in how he conducted himself in his activism. After leaving the Youth Communist League, he worked with members of the Socialist Party, such as A. Philip Randolph and Mahatma Gandhi, and developed a personal philosophy of pacifism, socialism, and nonviolent protest. He soon became a member of the pacifist Rev. A.J. Muste’s Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and traveled around the country as a public speaker after the FOR launch of the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942.

Rustin is most known for his work with Martin Luther King Jr., who he met in 1956 after traveling to Alabama to support the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He mainly served as King’s advisor during the civil rights movement. While King was the face of the movement, Rustin was the chief organizer behind the civil rights marches. Among the many civil rights events that were made possible due to Bayard Rustin’s skills, he is most famous for his work behind the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his renowned “I Have a Dream” speech. Organized over just a mere eight short weeks, Rustin’s efficiency behind this march granted him significant recognition. His sheer influence behind the civil rights movement and its actions are indisputable, and many even attribute the civil rights movement’s nonviolent approach to Rustin’s Quaker-style leadership and values.

2. Shirley Chisholm (1924 - 2005): “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

Shirley Chisholm is the first African American woman to be elected to the United States Congress, and the first African American woman to ever run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. She was born to immigrant parents with her father, Charles St. Hill, being from Guyana, and her mother, Ruby Seale St. Hill, being from Barbados. Although she was supported and encouraged to pursue a career in politics by her professors, she replied that she faced a ”double handicap” as being both African American and female.

Being aware of the racial and gender inequality present, Chrisholm joined her local chapters of the League of Women Voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Urban League, and the Democratic Party club. In 1964, after her area was redistricted to become more Democratic, Chisholm ran and became the second African American in the New York State Legislature. Then, in 1968, she ran and earned a seat in Congress becoming the first African American woman to be in Congress. She went on to serve seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Nicknamed “Fighting Shirley,” she introduced and fought for more than 50 pieces of legislation—mainly focusing on racial and gender equality, poverty, and ending the Vietnam War. She also co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971. In 1972, she became the first woman and African American to seek the presidential nomination from the Democratic party, despite facing frequent discrimination She was blocked from televised primary debates, and even after taking legal action, she was only allowed to make one speech. Regardless of all these obstacles, she gained 152 of the delegates’ votes which were 10% of the total number of votes from the Caucus.

In 1983, Chisholm retired from Congress, and went on to teach at Mount Holyoke College. She also co-founded the National Political Congress of Black Women. Chisholm said that she wants to be remembered, “...as a woman… who dared to be a catalyst of change.”

3. Francis E.W. Harper (1825-1911): “We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is the first African American woman to publish a short story. She was an abolitionist, suffragist, and reformer who co-founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.

Francis Harper was born on September 24, 1825, in Baltimore, Maryland. As an only child, she was born to free African American parents. Unfortunately, when she was three years old, both of her parents passed away. Her aunt and uncle, Henrietta and William Watkins, raised her. Her uncle was an abolitionist and organized a black literary society and established his own school in 1820 called the Watkins Academy for Negro Youth. Harper attended the academy until she was 13years old. She became a nursemaid and seamstress for a Quaker household that owned a bookshop, which started her love for books. By the age of 21, she wrote her first volume of poetry called Forest Leaves.

When she was 26 years old, she left Maryland and became the first woman instructor at Union Seminary, a school for free African Americans in Ohio. She moved to a school in York, Pennsylvania. Because Maryland passed a law stating free African Americans living in the North were not allowed to enter the state of Maryland, they couldn’t go back home. She started devoting her time to the antislavery cause. Harper began writing poetry in an antislavery newspaper. Her poem “Eliza Harris,” was published in the Liberator and Frederick Douglass’ Paper. She became a traveling lecturer for various organizations such as the Maine Anti-Slavery Society and the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Throughout her career, she published many of her poems, and her first short story, called “The Two Offers,'' was the first story published by an African American woman.

In 1860, Frances married Fenton Harper, and they had a daughter together. When Fenton passed away, she began touring and formed alliances with prominent women’s rights activists. During the Reconstruction, she was an activist for civil rights, education, and women’s rights. She became the superintendent of the Colored Section of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She was the co-founder and vice president of the National Association of Colored Women, a member of the American Woman's Suffrage Association, and the director of the American Association of Colored Youth.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a widely accomplished woman speaking for women's rights and civil rights—equality for all. She passed away on February 22, 1911, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

4. Marsha P. Johnson (1954-1992): “As long as my people don't have their rights across America, there's no reason for celebration.”

Being born black, poor, gay, and gender-nonconforming during a time in history when all of these things were frowned upon, Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson was dealt a difficult hand of cards. Johnson dedicated her life to helping the LGBT+ and black community to fight for their rights. Johnson did not grow up in a very accepting city and moved out as soon as she finished high school. She moved to New York City where she became a waitress and sex worker. Later on, she became a drag queen and was a frequent performer.

Johnson is recognized for participating in the Stonewall riots—a series of protests and demonstrations in response to police targetting and raiding a gay club in the middle of the night. Johnson arrived at the Stonewall club that night a couple of hours after the cops had arrived, and the chaos broke out, but she joined right in and stayed fighting off the cops through the morning. Johnson said she was not afraid of being arrested because she had been getting arrested for years for wearing makeup, and walking down the street.

Johnson, along with her close friend Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a trans activist group. The two of them also maintained the STAR house, a place to help refugee LGBT+ youth. Despite making little money from gigs, Johnson still spent a large portion of her earnings on meals for homeless people.

Her death in 1992 was originally ruled as a suicide after her body had been found in the Hudson river. Johnson’s close friends did not agree with this ruling though, and it has since been ruled as a possible homicide.

In February of 2020, New York’s Governor Cuomo renamed a state park in honor of Marsha P. Johnson, making this the first state park to be named after a trans woman of color. Along with the state park, later this year a monument would be placed at her hometown’s city hall. This statue was proposed to replace the existing statue of Christopher Columbus in Elizabeth, New Jersey’s city hall.

5. John Lewis (1987-2020): “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”

John Lewis is a name that many of us may not recognize, but the contributions made towards civil rights will be remembered forever.

Born in Troy, Alabama, Lewis had a happy childhood, working hard to help his sharecropper parents. While he lived in a segregated society he was inspired by listening to Reverend Martin Luther King’s sermons to make a difference in the world . Lewis eventually left Alabama to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary, where he originally trained to become a Pastor. It was at the seminary where he learned all about the art of nonviolent protests. He organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and was often arrested, but was undeterred in his mission and later participated in the freedom rides of 1961. While Lewis was beaten many times throughout his protesting career, that didn't stop him from continuing to do what he was passionate about. In 1963, Lewis became the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was named one of the “Big Six.'' He even went on to help organize the iconic march on Washington D.C. where he was the youngest speaker at the event.

While the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, banning segregation, there was a glaring problem that remained: the suppression of African-American votes. To help protest against the unfair discrimination in the south, Lewis helped stage a protest which later became violent. The event would become known as Bloody Sunday, and Lewis just barely survived with a fractured skull.

After a life of peaceful protesting and Civil Rights Activism, Lewis stepped into the world of Politics. In 1981, he won a seat on the Montgomery City Council, and in 1986 won Georgia’s congress seat. As a member of Congress, he saw multiple renewals of the Civil Rights Act, health care reform, and gun reform. He is best known for staging a sit-in with fellow members of Congress over the Orlando Nightclub Shooting, 170 lawmakers attended in support of gun control measures.

In 2019 Lewis had been diagnosed with Stage-4 Pancreatic Cancer and swore to fight it for as long as he could. Unfortunately, he has passed away since then. However, the impact of the work Lewis dedicated his life to is seen today. From voting rights, healthcare, to gun control, we have a lot to thank Congressman John Lewis for.

6. Ruby Bridges (1954-Present): “Racism is something that we, as adults, have kept alive. We pass it on to our kids. None of our kids come into the world knowing anything about disliking one another.”

Ruby Bridges, heart full of courage, was known as the first African American child to attend an all-white public school in southern America. Her first steps into the school signified the change of American’s views of racism to become more accepting and equal to people of color.

Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi. When she was four years old, her family moved to New Orleans. There, Bridges took a difficult test for African American students to determine whether or not they were eligible to attend an all-white school. During this time, the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case had ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. When she passed the test she was assigned to William Frantz Elementary School. Although six other African American students were also assigned, Ruby Bridges ended up being the only child to enroll. November 14, 1960, was her first day at school, and she was escorted by four federal marshals to ensure her safety. Students’ parents would rebel against the school, outraged by the fact an African American was attending school there. Despite the harsh criticism Bridges faced, she continued to be escorted every day and be taught in an empty classroom. After her first year at the school, the crowds started to dissipate and more African Americans attended the school.

Bridges became an inspirational figure to young African Americans and helped change American society. The famous painting, The Problem We All Live With (1963) by Norman Rockwell, was inspired by the scene of Bridges going to school with a mob of angry people every day. Her story was also featured in children’s books and eventually became the backbone of her memoir, Through My Eyes.

Ruby Bridges is still an inspiring activist today. She hosts podcasts, Zoom classrooms, and many more -- to encourage people to chase after their dreams. Ever since she was young, she was never afraid to try new things. We are thankful for Ruby Bridges’s bravery at such a young age to be able to lessen racism in our American society.

7. Phillis Wheatly (1753-1784): “The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom.”

In the world of literature, the name Phillis Wheatley is well known and is connected to the history of the first African American woman renowned to be the Mother of African American Literature.

Born in West Africa, Wheatly was brought to the United States when she was seven and was sold into slavery to the Wheatly family. Despite being a slave, she was educated by the family on various subjects such as astronomy, geography, and literature. By the age of 14, she had published her first poem. However, with the publication of “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield,” she began to receive a lot of attention. By the time she was the age of 18, a collection of her poems were published and ran as advertisements in Boston newspapers. However, once the colonists found out, they refused to support her literature. Even so, she and the Wheatley family began to look for a publisher in London which led to her preparation of her first book.

Her poems were a reflection of her own life as seen through the contents and the style of her own writing. Her writing style was similar to that of an elegy, where in her culture, it was the role of the women to sing and perform funeral dirges. As the years progressed, her writing began to reflect the events that were happening during that time. She had supported the patriots during the American Revolution, but was strongly opposed against the slavery that was going on. She had written many poems, one of the most well liked being reflected on George Washington’s appointment as the commander of the Continental army.

Wheatley passed away in December of 1784 due to complications of childbirth, however, she will also be known as an inspiration to African-American writers. Her work and her contributions to literature helped show that the African-American people were capable people who benefitted from an education.

8. Harriet Tubman (1820-1913): “I have heard their groans and sighs, and seen their tears, and I would give every drop of blood in my veins to free them.”

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, and eventually escaped to her freedom in 1849. Harriet Tubman was born with the name Araminta Ross, but she changed her name to Harriet Tubman after she married John Tubman, who was “a free black man” in 1844. Harriet was the name of her mother.

Harriet Tubman is most famous for being a conductor of the Underground Railroad, which was a series of many safe houses that helped slaves escape to their freedom. She helped so many people through the Underground Railroad between the years 1850 and 1860. In total, she made 19 trips, helping over 300 people escape to their freedom. Her first encounter with the Underground Railroad was in 1849, when she used it to escape to her freedom. Instead of staying in the North where she could be safe, she decided to help so many others, and she became famous for helping all of these people on the Underground Railroad. For helping so many people, she eventually received the nickname “Moses.” Because of the Fugitive Slave Law, which said that escaped slaves had to be returned from the North to the South, Harriet Tubman instead helped slaves escape to Canada, instead of the North.

Harriet Tubman was also a nurse during the Civil War for the Union army, and she was a scout, spy, and guerrilla soldier. She was the first African American woman to actually serve in the military.

Harriet Tubman inspired so many people throughout her life, that there have been many things done to honor her. There are many schools named after her, there is a museum about her in Cambridge, and a plaque on the courthouse in Auburn. Along with these, there were also two movies made to honor her called, A Woman Called Moses (1978) and Harriet (2019). In 2016, it was announced that she would replace Jackson on the $20 bill because she “devoted her life to racial equality and fought for women’s rights.”

9. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895): “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

Born in Cordova, Maryland, Frederick Douglass is remembered today as an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping slavery and becoming a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, he found popularity amongst many people for his well-spoken speeches and anti-slavery writings. He was commonly recognized for one of his several autobiographies, titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

Douglass, born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, in 1818. With no actual date of when he was born, he decided to choose February 14th, after he recalled his mother calling him her “Little Valentine.” His parents are alleged to be his master, and his mother Harriet Bailey, who was later separated from him. In one of his autobiographies, he later wrote that “The opinion was… whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion I know nothing… my mother and I were separated when I was an infant.”

During his abolitionist days, many would describe Douglass as a “living counter-example to slaveholders’ arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens.” Frederick is known for being one of the few educated American slaves who could articulate his colloquies in unbelievable ways. Frederick believed heavily in the equality of everyone, whether they were a minority or white. When radical abolitionists, who believed that slaves and slave owners should have no converse whatsoever, criticized Frederick for his compliance in talking to slave owners, he replied: “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

Douglass lived his last days in Washington D.C. On February 20th, 1895, he attended a meeting of the National Council of Women. When Frederick returned home, he suffered a massive heart attack. He lived an inspirational and long life and still impacts people with his iconic writings every day.

10. Malcolm X (1925 - 1965): “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. He spent most of his young years in foster homes or with relatives after experiencing the sudden death of his father and his mother’s hospitalization to an insane asylum. He was an excellent student, however, he quickly lost interest when a teacher discouraged him from his dreams of being a lawyer. He started to become involved in many illicit activities that led to him being sentenced to prison for six years in 1946 for larceny and breaking and entering. Throughout his time in prison, he joined the Nation of Islam and adopted the name Malcolm X, which represents his lack of an African American surname, believing that his current name originates from white slaveholders.

Malcolm X soon became known as one of the most influential leaders in 1952 during his time in patrol. He acted as the Nation of Islam’s public representative for several years in which he advocated for black empowerment, the segregation of Americans, and critized the civil rights movement for its emphasis on nonviolence practices. He often spoke out during the civil rights movements at major universities. Countering Martin Luther King Jr.’s desire for integration and non-violence, he argues that civil rights was more than just the ability to sit inside a restaurant and the right to vote. To Malcolm X, it was an issue of Black identity, integrity, and independence. He wanted his followers to defend themselves “by any means necessary.” His ideas set the foundation for Black Power and Black consciousness movements.

In his final years, while Malcolm became an active figure in the civil rights movement, his teachings were deemed as violations of the moral code of the Nations. He became quite controversial as he publically called President John F. Kennedy’s assassination “chickens coming home to roost.” This means that it was the consequences of violence throughout a violent society. Because of this, Malcolm was forced to leave the Nation. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while delivering a lecture in Harlem. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his murder.