The New Leaders of Social Justice
By: Rashad Drakeford
01/12/2015
PATRISSE CULLORS, ALICIA GARZA, OPAL TOMETI
#BlackLivesMatter has been shouted and mentioned across the country from the The White House to the the front lines of marches to every single social media outlet. Now the rallying cry of the social justice movement, this hashtag first came to life over two years ago after the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Cullors, Garza and Tometi were empowered to create #BlackLivesMatter, “a call-to-action” to broaden the conversation and action around state violence, poverty, imprisonment, immigration and genocide. Today, #BlackLivesMatter does work across the country and have been on the front lines of action
Age(s): 31, 33, 30
Sector: Social Activism
Title(s) & Organization: Co-Founders, #BlackLivesMatter
Website: www.blacklivesmatter.com
Twitter(s): @Osope, @AliciaGarza, @Opalayo
Location(s): Los Angeles, CA | Oakland, CA | Brooklyn, NY
Quote(s) To Live By: ” If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”—Harriet Tubman; “Until the lion has its own historian, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”—Unknown; “We often preoccupy ourselves with the symptoms, whereas if we went to the root cause of the problems, we would be able to overcome the problems once and for all.”—Wangari Maathai
Songs That Inspire You: “#BLMHere by Real8, “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys, “Black Rage” by Lauryn Hill