This Black History month– and every month– we celebrate young Black trailblazers making impacts in their communities and beyond. Aged 13 to 24, these Black changemakers are using their creativity, bravery, intellect, and talent to create a kinder, braver world. Check out their work in a variety of different fields– including fashion, environmental justice, and healthcare – and learn how you can support their incredible activism.
Amanda Liz Taylor
Amanda co-founded the Unplug Collective, a movement that’s been recognized by Vogue, Nike, and other fashion and lifestyle leaders. The Unplug Collective bridges the gap between fashion and mental health, providing a platform for expression to Black women and gender-expansive people. Amanda started the movement in 2019 when they didn’t find any safe spaces for Black women and nonbinary people online. Now, the Unplug Collective has over 59,0000 followers on Instagram and more than 1,000,000 likes on their educational posts. With campaigns like #DearFashionIndustry that educate about discriminatory sizing in fashion, Amanda continues to be a trailblazer in mental health and fashion. They spark conversations about fatphobia, helping thousands heal their relationship with their bodies.
Support Amanda’s work by following the Unplug Collective on Instagram, learning from stories on the Unplug website, and visiting Amanda’s photography website.
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Naomi Wadler
With an unforgettable speech at the March for Our Lives, Naomi Wadler has made her mark on the movement against gun violence. In February of 2018, Naomi’s mother learned that her friend from high school lost their child in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The tragedy compelled Naomi to take action and she organized a student-led walkout at her elementary school in Virginia to honor both the Parkland lives and Courtlin Arrington, a Black student killed in her Alabama high school. Naomi and her peers honored those lost to gun violence with 18 minutes of silence, one for each of the lives lost in Parkland and an additional minute for Arrington.
Naomi’s work caught the attention of the March For Our Lives organizers, leading to her historic speech at the D.C. march against gun violence. She continues to spread a message of self-love, activism, and political change.
To keep up with Naomi, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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Caleb Anderson
Caleb Anderson began his second year of his aerospace engineering degree at just 12 years-old. Last year, he was accepted to his dream school, the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is continuing his degree. Caleb has demonstrated remarkable intellect from an incredibly young age. At just three years old, he scored in the 98% percentile on a standardized intelligence test. As Caleb continues his education, his dream is to intern at Tesla and SpaceX, start his own company, and become a positive influence for his Black peers.
Follow Caleb on Instagram.
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Marsai Martin
You might know Marsai Martin from playing Diane Johnson on Black-ish. In addition to her iconic role, she became Hollywood’s youngest executive producer at the age of 14 for the movie Little, starring Issa Rae, Regina Hall, and Marsai, herself. Little, Marsai’s first film as a producer, did incredibly well, grossing $48 million worldwide. She’s now also launched a company called Genius Productions. Marsai’s goal with her acting career and Genius Productions is to create diverse representations for Black girls, without tokenizing them. In addition to starring and producing numerous films and series for Disney+, Marsai also founded a nail care line called Mari. To keep up with her work, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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Joseph Kitonga
Joseph Kitonga is an entrepreneur and Kenyan immigrant. He is the founder of Vitable Health, a healthcare startup valued at over $9 million. Vitable Health seeks to make healthcare more accessible and affordable by offering unlimited visits with zero copays and/or deductibles. The startup makes a primary care based health insurance plan available to all, with the flexibility of both virtual and at-home visits included. Joseph adapted Vitable Health when the coronavirus pandemic hit, offering in-home COVID tests and providing rapid tests to front line workers. The startup already serves over 10,000 people. Forbes recently took note of Joseph’s impressive initiative, naming him one of the 30 entrepreneurs under 30 to watch this upcoming year.
To follow Joseph’s work, follow him on Medium, check him out on LinkedIn, and visit Vitable Health’s website.
Yolanda Rene King
Yolanda Rene King is a 13 year old activist who has delivered moving speeches about gun control and racial equality. Most recently, Yolanda has advocated for voting rights by building support for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Yolanda’s voting rights work builds upon that of her grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr. In speaking about her family’s legacy, Yolanda says it’s important to recognize the work of the women in her family as well. In fact, she attributes her activism to being inspired by Black women like her grandmother, Coretta Scott King.
Yolanda’s activism began early– she participated in her first rally at the age of 9. She encourages admirers of her grandfather to allow his legacy to inspire action, such as calling and emailing representatives in Congress to pass voting rights legislation.
See how you can get involved with the voting rights movement here!
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Justin J. Pearson
Justin J Pearson is an environmental justice activist and cofounder of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, a movement against a 49-mile oil pipeline that would’ve severely impacted Black and working class neighborhoods in southwest Memphis, Tennessee.
The pipeline was sponsored by two multi-billion dollar companies and would have run through land that supplies drinking water to more than a million people. Justin’s organizing work, coalition building, and protests garnered the attention of national leaders–like former vice president Al Gore–and successfully defeated the pipeline project, a major win against environmental racism.
After defeating the oil pipeline, Justin and his fellow organizers changed their organization’s name to Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) in order to broaden their mission, tackle intersectional community issues, and continue the fight for environmental and racial justice. For Justin, environmental organizing work has always been about community and caring for the people and places that helped raise him. MCAP is fueled by his love for his community.
To support Justin, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Environmental Racism is about to disrupt one of Memphis’ most vulnerable Black, elderly, lower-income communities. The Byhalia pipeline would pump & burn millions of gallons of oil and force us to inhale the cancer-causing toxins from Valero and Plains. https://t.co/AFi14bynBS
— Justin J. Pearson (@Justinjpearson) November 9, 2020
