Alicia Garza
Her words after the Trayvon Martin verdict helped give Black Lives Matter its name.
Alicia Garza was born in Oakland, California, in 1981. She became an organiser in the Bay Area, working on housing, domestic workers’ rights and racial justice before Black Lives Matter brought her to international attention.
In July 2013 George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin. Garza responded with a Facebook post affirming the value of Black lives. Patrisse Cullors turned the phrase into the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and Opal Tometi helped build the network that connected their work with organisers across the country.
Garza identifies as queer. She has emphasised that Black queer and trans people were central to the movement from its beginning, challenging versions of its history that overlook them. Her organising links the struggle against racism with questions of gender, sexuality, work and political power.
She later founded the Black Futures Lab to strengthen Black communities’ influence on public policy and elections. In “The Purpose of Power” (2020), she reflected on the patient organising behind movements that can appear to emerge overnight. That year Time included Garza, Cullors and Tometi among its 100 most influential people.