Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination.
While there is still much to be done to achieve racial equality, some progress has been made in that regard in the half-century since the civil rights leader's murder. So, in honor King and the activism he inspired, we compiled a list to show how far we've come and how far we still have to go, recapping 50 achievements black activists have made to impact marginalized lives in America.
Here. We. Go.
1. In 1971, Shirley Chisholm co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus, an organization consisting of African-American members of the Congress. The caucus works on issues relevant to African-Americans with the aim of achieving equality.
2. In 1975, Septima Poinsette Clark was elected to the Charleston School Board. She repealed a bill that prohibited city and state workers from belonging to civil rights organizations.
3. 1977, Ramona Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition. She initiated the Say Yes to a Youngster's Future program, which provided math, science, and technology assistance to youth and teachers of color.
4. In 1989, Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative with the goal to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment. Over the years EJI built the Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, set to open April 26, 2018
5. In 1991, Hattie Canty, lead the longest labor strike in American history and won her fight for union rights six years later.
6. In 1995, Louis Farrakhan, Founded and Lead The Million Man March that gathered more than a million men at the national capital to stand up for justice.
7.In 2001, Farhana Khera, founded the Muslim Advocates, a national advocacy and educational group that fights for religious freedom.
8.In 2001, Majora Carter started Sustainable South Bronx, an organization that is dedicated to environmentalism and also started a green jobs training and placement program.
9.In 2002, Maya Wiley created the Center for Social Inclusion and launched the Maya Wiley fellowship that connects local work to a national community of activists and policymakers.
10. In 2003, Rosa Clemente was known for combining hip-hop and political activism into grassroots movements. She helped develop programs such Hip-Hop Summit and Hip-Hop Congress that served as catalyst programs for youth involvement in politics.
11. In 2005, Rev. Dr. Barber served as the President of the North Carolina State Conference and has helped secure the freedom of innocent African American men from Death Row and the passage of the Racial Justice Act.
12. In 2005, Lonnie Bunch became the Founding Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. A museum that was fought for since 1915.
13. In 2006, Tarana Burke, originally founded #Metoo as a grassroots movement to serve sexual assault survivors in underprivileged communities. Recently #metoo became a culture trend with the uncovering of sexual assault cases in a high place like Hollywood.
14. In 2006, Beverly Bond founded Black Girls Rock!, an organization she built to help celebrate the beauty and magic of black girls everywhere.
15. In 2007, Ben Jealous became the president of NACCP. He worked to end mass incarceration and expand civil rights. He helped to pass numerous landmark pieces of legislation during President Obama's first term.
16. In 2009, Eric Holder became the first African-American attorney general of the United States. During his tenure, he created a domestic violence unit, a community prosecution project and a program for restricting gun laws.
17. In 2010, Jimmie Briggs founded the Man Up Campaign to help stop and develop preventive methods to combat gender-based violence.
18. In 2011, Micah White co-founded Occupy Wall Street a global social movement that spread across 82 countries and brought attention to the widening gap between rich and poor.
19. In 2011, Student activists at the University of California Santa Cruz protested against the school's hostile environment towards black students and had all of their demands met by the administration just three days later.
20. In 2012, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, founded the Trayvon Martin Foundation in remembrance of their son's death and to put an end to state-sanctioned violence.
21. In 2012, Ciara Taylor founded Dream Defenders, to advocate against organizers working to end domestic and foreign wars.
22. In 2012, Melanie L. Campbell's leadership played a crucial role in increasing the number of black woman voters. That year, the black woman voter turnout surpassed everyone for the first time in history.
23. In 2013, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi founded the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman.
24. In 2013, Laverne Cox had her breakthrough role in "Orange Is The New Black" and has used her platform to give visibility to the plights of the LGBT community.
25. In 2013, The University of California dropped $30 million worth of investments into private prison companies as a result of a student lead protest.
26. In 2014, after the flint water crisis, Mari Copeny emerged a young leader who spoke on the behalf of kids in Flint. She is the youngest member of the Women’s March youth ambassador program.
27. In 2014, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden advocated for police to use body cameras after the death of their son. In 2014, the Rialto Police Department was the first in the nation to deploy the cameras on uniformed officers across the department.
28. In 2014, Ashley Jackson became the director of The Human Rights Campaign, where she fought for LQBTQ rights. Jackson founded the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition and the Queer Youth Leading the South Activist Summer Camp.
29. In 2014, Former President Barck Obama launched My Brother's Keeper Initiative to combat gaps that black men face. Two years after its launch, the program can be found in all 50 states.
30. In 2015, Wazi Maret Davis created the movement #blackbrunch where people file into gentrified brunch spots and bring awareness to police brutality. #Blackbrunch was aimed to reflect the sit-ins in the South during the civil rights movement.
31. In 2015, Bree Newsome climbed a flagpole in South Carolina and removed a Confederate flag in response to the black church massacre at AME Zion Church in Charleston where nine churchgoers were shot and killed by a white supremacist during a bible study.
32. In 2015, the rise of Black Lives Matter caused these states to pass new laws. Illinois passed SB 1304 to prohibit the use of chokeholds by police and Connecticut passed HB 7103 that require police training programs better cover the use of force, cultural sensitivity, and bias-free policing.
33. In 2015, black student activists at the University of Missouri rallied together to protest and call for the resignation of President Tim Wolfe. As a result, Wold resigned.
34. In 2015, local residents protested against the legacy of Sandra Bland to remembered. Their demand was met, and the city renamed a road in Bland's honor.
35. In 2015, black leaders worked together to create campaign zero which serves as a comprehensive resource to combat police violence.
36. In 2015, Marley Dias organized a book drive called #1000BlackGirlBooks, and since its inception, the campaign has delivered more than 9,000 books to young girls.
37. In 2015, Michelle Obama launched Let Girls Learn, a U.S. government-wide initiative that addresses the factors that prevent girls from education and provide resources for girls in conflict zones.
38. In 2016, protesters fought for the removal of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez for her lack of leadership and roles she played in the Laquan McDonald shooting. Activist started the #ByeAnita campaign and she was voted out of office and replaced by Kim Fox.
39. In 2016, Lateefah Simon became president of the Akonadi Foundation’s, whose mission is to eliminate structural racism. Since its founding, the company has given away 1,600 grants totaling $35 million to nonprofit organizations.
40. In 2016, Glen Martin found the #CloseRikers campaign, and within 12 months the movement won its first demand so it became the official policy of NYC to close Rikers Island.
41. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick sacrificed his career to advocate for an end to police brutality. He founded the, Know Your Rights camp to educate youth on their rights and has donated more than $1 million to organizations.
42. In 2017, Tamika Mallory co-founded The Women's March, a movement that ignited nationwide protest and organized over 5 million people worldwide.
43. In 2017, Baltimore removed multiple Confederate statues after the Charlotteville riots.
44. In 2017, The NAACP won a voters rights case in Georgia, and now the state will no longer be able to cut off voter registration beyond 30 days of any federal election.
45. In 2017, Yale University changed the name of a building honoring a slave owner as result of pressure from the student body.
46. In 2017, Rashad Robinson founder of Color Change, along with activist helped to remove journalist and television host Bill O Reilly from the airwaves for his corrupt and degrading speech towards the black community.
47. In 2017, Akeem Browder founded The Kalief Browder Foundation in honor of his brother, who committed suicide at 22 after being beaten by security guards and inmates at Rikers Island. Kalief was sentenced to jail for claims he stole a students backpack at school. Akeem Browder now travels the world sharing his brother story and fighting for criminal justice reform.
48. In 2017, Chance The Rapper donated nearly $1 million to Chicago Public Schools and has worked personally with the youth in Chicago to provide open doors and combine arts and education through his nonprofit SocialWorks.
49. In 2018, Naomi Wadler spoke out against gun violence at the March For Our Lives and gave a voice to young activists.
50. In 2018, activists protested the death of Stephon Clark and shut down a Sacramento Kings game. As a result, the Sacramento Kings developed an education fund for Clark's two sons. Rest in power, Clark.
