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1917–1996 Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer and band leader. She was also a civil rights activist, using her shows to break racial barriers across the nation. In 1949, she joined the Jazz at the Philharmonic tour which targeted segregated venues. The tour made sure there was no “colored” or “white” seating and… Continue reading Ella Fitzgerald

1928–2014 “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson. At age eight she was raped and because of the trauma, was mute for the next five years. A teacher and… Continue reading Maya Angelou

1897-1993 A Contralto, Marian Anderson performed with renowned orchestras and on the opera scene between 1925 and 1965. She started in the U.S. but performed in Europe because of segregated audiences. Anderson was an important figure in the struggle to overcome racial prejudice. In 1939, the Daughters of the American refused to allow Anderson to… Continue reading Marian Anderson

1908–2007 Marnesba Tackett, is an unsung hero in the Civil Rights Movement and NAAP member for over 90 years. Her challenges were not only being light-skinned, who refused to pass as “white,” but as a woman trying to burst through barriers in a male-dominated world. She fought against both racial and gender inequality in all… Continue reading Marnesba Tackett

1910-1985 Pauli Murray was a civil rights lawyer and later an Episcopalian priest. In 1940, 15 years before Rosa Parks, Murray was jailed for refusing to move to the back of a bus in the Jim Crow south. In 1943, she campaigned successfully to desegregate her local diner, 17 years before the Greensboro lunch counter… Continue reading Pauli Murray

1927–2007 Mae Mallory was an activist of the Civil Rights Movement and a Black Power movement leader active in the 1950s and 1960s. She is best known as an advocate of school desegregation and of black armed self-defense Black History Perspective: Forgotten Intellectual TeenVogue — Mae Mallory Civil Rights Leader

1984– Ayo Tometi, formerly known as Opal Tometi, is an American human rights activist, writer, strategist, and community organizer. She is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM).She is the former Executive Director of the United States’ first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, working there… Continue reading Ayo Tometi

1981– Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the international Black Lives Matter movement She has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for domestic workers, ending police brutality, anti-racism, and violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people of color. Her editorial writing has been… Continue reading Alicia Garza