Black Women Activists Leading The Movement

History matters. We often fail to appreciate Black women activists while they are alive. This mirrors the experience of Ida B. Wells, the Progressive era Black feminist writer. We frequently recognize their literary and on-the-ground work only after they pass away. Sometimes, this recognition takes decades. Consider Dr. Martin Luther King. He died at age 39. His approval rating was abysmal—below 25%. Yet, he became a national icon fifteen years later.

Today, we aim to fix this American habit. We want to introduce five top Black female activists of our time. Their sacrifices and hard work for underprivileged communities deserve recognition right now.

1) Black Lives Matter Founders

Three Black women from California founded the era-defining civil rights group Black Lives Matter. Did you know that? These community activists are Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. They all live in California. They used their online voices to speak out after George Zimmerman’s acquittal. Zimmerman had murdered Treyvon Martin in 2013 without provocation.

More than ten years have passed since then. Cullors, Garza, and Tometi have received little national spotlight. Still, they continue their grassroots work. They fight tirelessly against systemic racism in law enforcement.

2) Angela Davis

Dr. Angela Davis is a radical feminist. She is also a long-time member of the Communist Party of USA. She comes from an African-American family in Alabama. Davis has worked tirelessly for many causes. These range from anti-conscription protests during the Vietnam War to today’s Occupy and BDS movements. People know Davis best for her work on prisons. She advocates for abolishing and reworking the U.S. prison system. She critiques its racist history. She also highlights its collaboration with private capitalists. This partnership created our current mass incarceration crisis.

Davis spreads awareness about the prison-industrial complex. She remains its most prominent voice. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.

3) Michelle Alexander

Michelle Alexander is another key activist. She has devoted her life to exposing the racist roots of the American carceral state. Alexander was born in Chicago. She started her career as a legal expert. She directed the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU from 1998 to 2005. In this role, Alexander advocated for millions of ostracized Black men. America’s massive carceral system now controls their lives.

In 2010, Alexander wrote an instant classic history book. It is titled “The New Jim Crow”. She has been an opinion columnist for The New York Times since 2018. Notably, she contributed to Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “The 1619 Project”.

Michelle is also Leslie Alexander’s older sister. Leslie is a Black history professor. She authored a 2008 work on early Black communities in New York.

4) Michelle Obama

Image credit: Joelle Gamble.

We recognize Michelle Obama as the beloved Black First Lady of the U.S. She was the public face of the Obama White House during critical moments. Her personal contributions matter too. Her charity work and inspiring charisma have left a mark. This impact will last for decades in Black and Brown communities.

Obama spent years in public service. She dedicated her White House years to specific causes. She promoted girls’ education. She fought childhood obesity. She championed many other issues. Her autobiography “Becoming” hit the New York Times best-seller list immediately in 2018. Michelle Obama remains influential. Even six years after leaving the White House, we recognize her impact. She is truly one of the top Black female activists of our lifetime.

5) Kimberlé Crenshaw

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is another Black feminist author. Her work contributes prominently to social justice causes today. Few people outside academic circles know her name. She works as a law professor at UCLA and Columbia Law School. This makes her a prestigious voice. She influences current debates about racism and legal systems.

Crenshaw leads scholarship on Critical Race Theory. She is best known for introducing ‘intersectionality’. This sociological concept explains how social identities and oppression systems overlap. Her work argues a key point. Women of color face unique obstacles. These obstacles are not just the sum of sexism and racism. Instead, an intertwined web of experiences forms them. This creates a new identity distinct from its parts. Her work recently entered popular culture. This gives her and other intersectional feminists a rare public voice.

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