1. Abby Kelley (1811)

American Activist

Influential abolitionist who led the American Anti-Slavery Society with William Lloyd Garrison and worked to gain equal rights for women.

2. Florence Kelley (1859)

American Activist

Suffragist and civil rights activist who helped establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP ) in 1909. She was also known for her advocacy for a...

3. Homer Plessy (1862)

American Activist

Creole who violated Louisiana's racial segregation laws. The court's decision against him influenced the legalization of racial segregation everywhere in the U.S..

4. Tom Kerry (1901)

American Activist

American politician who was a Communist and known as a lifelong member of the Socialist Workers Party.

5. Elizabeth Smart (1987)

American Activist

Made international news after being kidnapped at age 14. She was rescued nine months later and later became a child safety activist and a contributor for ABC News. 

6. Florynce Kennedy (1916)

American Activist

U.S. lawyer and activist who said, "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."

7. Betty Friedan (1921)

American Activist

Author of the groundbreaking 1963 work, The Feminine Mystique, and a leading figure in 20th-century American feminism's second wave. She established the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966 and...

8. Gloria Richardson (1922)

American Activist

Famous for leading a Maryland-based civil rights initiative known as the Cambridge Movement, this African-American activist was the spokeswoman of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee and a key figure in...

9. Phyllis Schlafly (1924)

American Activist

Attorney and conservative columnist and author who became known for her anti-feminist views and her vocal opposition to the women's Equal Rights Amendment of the 1970s. In 1972, she founded...

10. Sam Berns (1996)

American Activist

Activist whose struggle with a disease called progeria was documented in an HBO special titled Life According to Sam. Throughout his short life, he promoted awareness of his rare disorder.

11. Betty DeGeneres (1930)

American Activist

Famous as the mother of actress and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, she is also notable for her activist work with PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and...

12. Afeni Shakur (1947)

American Activist

Mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and founder of the philanthropic Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.

13. Susan Buffett (1932)

American Activist

Wife of billionaire investor Warren Buffett who led his prominent foundation.

14. Dick Gregory (1932)

American Activist

Nightclub comedian, political activist, and nutritional consultant known just as much for his comedy as he was for his political message on civil rights. 

15. Louis Farrakhan (1933)

American Activist

Nation of Islam minister who led the Million Man March in 1995 where he called on black men to renew their commitments to their families and communities. During his long...

16. Gloria Steinem (1934)

American Activist

Feminist activist and founder and publisher of Ms. magazine. She famously spoke for the women's liberation movement during the 1960s and '70s.

17. Abbie Hoffman (1936)

American Activist

Political activist and co-founder of the Youth International Party who was a member of the Chicago Seven, a radical group that upset the 1968 Democrat convention.

18. James Bevel (1936)

American Activist

A minister and civil right activist who was the Director of Direct Action and the Director of Nonviolent Education of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the 1960's.

19. Bobby Seale (1936)

American Activist

Militant leader who co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. He also notably made an unsuccessful bid to be the Mayor of Oakland in 1983.

20. Al Sharpton (1954)

American Activist

Civil rights activist and minister well known for his advocacy within the Black American community. He was also formerly a White House advisor, providing counsel to both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

21. Terrence Roberts (1941)

American Activist

Famous as a member of The Little Rock Nine, he was a joint recipient of the 1999 Congressional Gold Medal. In 1957, he and eight other students became the first...

22. Faye Wattleton (1943)

American Activist

Served as the president of Planned Parenthood from 1978 to 1992.

23. Laurie David (1958)

American Activist

Environmental activist who produced the Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth with former vice president Al Gore.

24. David Keene (1945)

American Activist

Politician who became the President of the National Rifle Association in 2011. He previously served as t the chairman of the American Conservative Union from 1984 to 2011.

25. Lou Dobbs (1945)

American Activist

Host of Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox Business Network. He also appeared in the 2009 film State of Play.

26. Mavis Leno (1946)

American Activist

Wife of Tonight Show host Jay Leno and a well-known philanthropist.

27. Jimmy McMillan (1946)

American Activist

Activist and founder of a New York political organization called the Rent is Too Damn High Party. He unsuccessfully ran for political office on numerous occasions.

28. Fred Hampton (1948)

American Activist

Deputy Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party who organized young African Americans for the NAACP.

29. Dexter King (1961)

American Activist

Actor, filmmaker, and author best known as the son of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. He appeared in the 1978 film, King, and the 2002 film, The Rosa...

30. Amy Spangler (1949)

American Activist

Breastfeeding expert who has published a number of books on breastfeeding.

31. Ronan Farrow (1987)

American Activist

A journalist, lawyer, and human rights activist who served as a foreign policy official in the Obama administration.

32. Michael Skolnik (1978)

American Activist

Best known as the co-president (with hip hop artist Russell Simmons) of Globalgrind.com, this activist, speaker, and entrepreneur also had a career as a film producer and director, working on such...

33. Van Jones (1968)

American Activist

African American author known for his New York Times bestselling book, The Green Collar Economy. He appeared on the 2009 Time magazine list of the 100 Most Influential People. Also...

34. Anthony Romero (1965)

American Activist

American activist, attorney, and businessman. He became executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2001.

35. Anthony Shriver (1965)

American Activist

Activist most well known as the founder of Best Buddies International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with intellectual disabilities find employment and social opportunities.

36. Alexis Jones (1983)

American Activist

Television personality, reality television contestant, author, female empowerment motivational speaker, and entrepreneur, she is best known for creating the I Am That Girl organization and for her participation on CBS's...

37. Qasim Rashid (1982)

American Activist

Human rights activist and author who is recognized for his support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in America. He has been featured on major news broadcasts including NBC and NPR.

38. Cleve Jones (1954)

American Activist

Co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation who is an AIDS and Gay rights activist.

39. Zach Wahls (1991)

American Activist

Zacharia Zach Wahls is the son of two lesbians and an activist on behalf of LGBT equality.

40. Shane Claiborne (1975)

American Activist

Shane Claiborne is an activist and author who is a leading figure in the New Monasticism movement and one of the founding members of The Simple Way in Philadelphia Pennsylvania....

41. Andrea Heinemann Simon (1909)

American Activist

Andrea Heinemann Simon was a community leader and the mother of award-winning singer Carly Simon.

42. Dan Choi (1981)

American Activist

Daniel Choi is a former American infantry officer in the United States Army who served in combat in the Iraq war during 2006-2007. He became an LGBT rights activist following...

43. Betty Reid Soskin (1921)

American Activist

Betty Reid Soskin is a Park ranger with the National Park Service assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond California. As of...

44. Cheryl Spector (1958)

American Activist

Cheryl Ann Spector was a well-known gay lesbian bisexual and transgender activist who lived in Arlington Virginia. Spector was born in Lakewood New Jersey and raised in Toms River New...

45. Mitsuye Yamada (1923)

American Activist

Mitsuye Yamada is a Japanese American activist feminist essayist poet story writer editor and former professor of English.

46. Matthew Vines (1990)

American Activist

Matthew Vines is an openly gay Christian speaker and LGBT activist known for the viral video The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality on YouTube. Vines grew up in Wichita...

47. Autherine Lucy (1929)

American Activist

Autherine Juanita Lucy was the first black student to attend the University of Alabama in 1956. She was born on October 5 1929 in Shiloh Alabama and graduated from Linden...

48. Jill Johnston (1929)

American Activist

Jill Johnston was an American feminist author and cultural critic who wrote Lesbian Nation in 1973 and was a longtime writer for The Village Voice. She was also a leader...

49. Carl Wilkens (1958)

American Activist

Carl Wilkens is the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda. In 1994 he was the only American who chose to remain in the country...

50. Cheri Honkala (1963)

American Activist

Cheri Lynn Honkala is an American anti-poverty advocate co-founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and co-founder and National Coordinator of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. She has...