A new National Geographic series uncovering the relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X has hit our television screens. We’re diving deeper into the people behind the movement this Black History Month. And that includes looking at the future of the civil rights movement.
While there will never be another MLK, here are the people (some of whom are still in high school) who have taken up his mantle.
Rev. William Barber II is an obvious example. The civil rights leader has taken up Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.’s work with the revitalized Poor People’s Campaign.
In 2015, Thandiwe Abdullah launched the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard — pushing the next generation to speak out on anti-Blackness and racism.
Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson has been a champion of civil rights throughout his career overturning over 140 wrongful convictions through his initiative.
Amanda Gorman, 25, is a poet and activist who catapulted to fame for her speech during Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Stacey Abrams has fought tirelessly for voting rights in the deep south.
At just 13 years old, she protested in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri after the killing of Michael Brown. She has continued her work as an activist, fighting for gun control, racial equity, and mental health.
Dorceta Taylor has been leading the fight for environmental justice across the United States — an issue that disproportionatley impacts millions of Black Americans throughout the country.
Chelsea Miller might be young, but she’s already accomplished a lot. Miller co-founded the Freedom March NYC, a massive youth-led civil rights organization. She also worked with the Obama administration on criminal justice reform.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest child, Dr. Bernice King has worked to keep his legacy alive as CEO of the King Center and as a civil rights leader in her own right.
Isra Hirisi is a young environmental justice activist, who co-founded the Youth Climate Strike. She was named in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 in Government and Politics. She is also the daughter of Progressive Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Martin Luther King III, a civil rights activist and father of Yolanda Renee King, has also been compared to his famous parents.
At 15, Zyahna Bryant petitioned the city of Charlottesville to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Now, in her early twenties, she’s continued to work as an activist.
As leader of Color of Change, Rashad Robinson has been a trailblazer in the civil rights space.
Waikinya Clanton, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi office, has kept up the fight for civil rights in the deep south.
You probably know Mari Copeny as Little Miss Flint. At just 8 years-old she wrote to then-President Barack Obama about the water crisis in Flint. She has continued her activism to this day.
