African-American activists

American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary and Black nationalist leader who rose from a background of poverty, family disruption, and criminal activity to a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. He discovered the religious organization the Nation of Islam while in prison and served as its spokesperson from 1952 until 1964. He was also a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X is also a celebrated figure with Black people and Muslims worldwide for his pursuit of racial justice.

Tupac Amaru Shakur was an American rapper and actor. He was one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century, and a prominent political activist for Black America. He is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Some of Shakur's music addressed social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of African Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for her 1955 refusal to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in defiance of Jim Crow racial segregation laws, which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. She is sometimes known as the "mother of the civil rights movement".

American jazz singer (1917–1996)

American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1981)

American writer and social activist (1901–1967)

American basketball player and entrepreneur (born 1959)

American actor and comedian

American singer and actress (1927–2008)

Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was an American civil rights activist, LGBTQ rights activist, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during the civil rights movement, he became one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and an ardent advocate and early supporter of LGBTQ rights in the United States. From 1991 to 1997, he served as a shadow United States senator for the District of Columbia.

American actress (born 1958)

American basketball player

African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor (1856-1915)

American singer and songwriter (1931–1964)

American actor (born 1946)

American singer, actor, and political activist (1898–1976)

American singer

American poet and activist

American entertainer (1925–1990)

American civil rights activist

American singer

American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress

Candace Amber Owens Farmer is an American political commentator, author, and conspiracy theorist. Her political positions have mostly been described as conservative or far-right. She has promoted conspiracy theories on a wide range of subjects throughout her career. Since 2024, she has espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.

American actress (1922–2014)

American Baptist minister, activist and talk show host

American actress

African-American civil rights activist (1939–2026)

Co-founder of the Black Panther Party (1942-1989)

American rapper and record producer (born 1982)

American politician (born 1963)

American pastor and politician (born 1969)

Ermias Joseph Asghedom, known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, songwriter, actor, activist, and entrepreneur. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle self-released his debut mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success, leading him to sign with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

American actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist (1917-2005)

American writer, journalist, and educator

African-American activist (1948-1969)

American activist and writer (born 1981)

American dancer, choreographer, songwriter, actress and activist (1909/1912–2006)

American activist (1912-2010)

co-founder of the Black Panther Party (born 1936)

computer scientist, specialising in AI ethics

American political activist (1947–2016)

American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor

American civil rights activist (1917–1977)

American sculptor (1892–1962)

American actress, activist (b. 1964)

American rapper, record producer and actor from Mississippi

American lawyer, social reformer and academic

American decathlete (1933-2012)

American computer scientist and digital activist

African American writer and performance artist (1948-2018)

American politician, nurse, and activist (born 1976)

American politician and activist (born 1997)

Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and recording producer and executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio albums and four mixtapes as a solo artist, as well as recording with the hip-hop collective 116, which he co-founded.

American politician (born 1974); Mayor of San Francisco from 2018 to 2025

African American schoolteacher

American author and historian

American activist

American activist

African-American teacher and businesswoman