Avengers of the Week | Black Lives Matter Founders Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi
This weekend, as the words “Black Lives Matter” are being painted on Fifth Avenue in New York City, we salute the founders of this globally recognized organized movement that focuses on combating anti-Black, state-sanctioned violence and all oppression of Black people.
The movement was launched by three women in the wake of the murder of Trayvon Martin to explicitly combat implicit bias and anti-Black racism and protect and affirm the beauty and dignity of all Black lives. BLM has been in the forefront of protests across the country after the killing of George Floyd and to protect and affirm the beauty and dignity of all Black lives.
Patrisse Khan-Cullors is an artist, organizer, and freedom fighter from Los Angeles, CA. She is also the founder of Dignity and Power Now, a New York Times Best Selling Author, a Fulbright scholar, a public speaker, and a Sydney Peace Prize awardee.
Alicia Garza is an Oakland-based organizer, writer, public speaker, and freedom dreamer who is currently the Special Projects Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States. She is also a co-founder of Supermajority. Since the rise of the BLM movement, Garza has become a powerful voice in the media. Her articles and interviews have been featured in Time, Mic, The Guardian, Elle.com, Essence, Democracy Now!, and The New York Times.
Opal Tometi is a New York-based Nigerian-American writer, strategist, and community organizer. She is credited with creating BLM’s online platforms and initiating the social media strategy during the project's early days. The campaign has grown into a national network of approximately 40 chapters. Opal is Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), and is being featured in the Smithsonian’s new National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for her historic contributions.
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While the words #BlackLivesMatter are painted on NYC’s Fifth Avenue this weekend, @GenderAvenger salutes @OsopePatrisse, @aliciagarza, and @opalayo as the founders of this modern-day civil rights movement. #AvengerOfTheWeek #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avengers-of-the-week-patrisse-khan-cullors-alicia-garza-opal-tometi