Black-owned athleisure brand Actively Black hosted a New York Fashion Week event on Friday, during which iconic figures and activists took to the runway in tribute to the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil rights figures who strutted the walkway in this year’s NYFW event

A highlight of the night was Ruby Bridges walking the runway at age 71 in Actively Black gear. Bridges, when she was 6 years old, desegregated her Louisiana school in 1960. Before her appearance, a video played that featured racist remarks from that era, including slurs used against Bridges, according to The Grio.

Then, a child actor dressed in a similar uniform to Bridges when she was a child walked out alongside two white men reminiscent of the federal agents who escorted Bridges on her first day of school. When the civil rights activist took the stage, the crowd gave her a standing ovation. She walked the runway wearing a black sweatshirt dress and waved and smiled at everyone in the audience.

Another powerful moment was when the daughters of civil rights icons Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X also strutted the stage. Dr. Bernice King and Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz were captured embracing each other as they walked the show, wearing black sweatshirts featuring images of their two fathers on the front.

Others who walked included civil rights photographer Cecil J. Williams, Juneteenth flag creator Benjamin Haith Jr., as well as Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the iconic Black athletes who raised their fists at the 1968 Olympics.

John Carlos and Tommie Smith attend Actively Black NYFW Runway Show at Sony Hall on September 12, 2025 in New York City. | Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images

Actively Black owner speaks out about having King’s and X’s daughters at the event

Actively Black founder Lanny Smith shared the photos on his Instagram page and also acknowledged their mothers, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, during the event and on his platform.

“Bruh … Martin and Malcolm’s daughters walked in the @activelyblack NYFW Show … I’ve cried 3 times since last night. @berniceaking @ilyasahshabazz I am forever grateful for you. Thank you for trusting me with this vision. I will take this with me forever, Smith wrote in the post’s caption.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lanny Smith (@l.smith23)

King also shared the photos in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, speaking highly of Shabazz as her “sister” and leaving a unifying message at the end, stating, “Be encouraged, family.” Let’s “walk together…and not get weary.”

Me and my sister, @ilyasahShabazz (daughter of #MalcolmX and #BettyShabazz), last night at the @ActivelyBlack NYFW Show.

Be encouraged, family.

Let’s “walk together…and not get weary.” #MLK #CorettaScottKing pic.twitter.com/TzPpJfkDT7
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) September 13, 2025

‘I ain’t never scared!’

The memorable moments continued as civil rights photographer Williams took the runway to Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared.” Behind him, the iconic image of his teenage self drinking from a “whites only” water fountain served as a backdrop. Williams wore a black sweatshirt featuring his own image, paired with black pants and sneakers, and waved to the crowd on both sides, snapping photos with his cell phone.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lanny Smith (@l.smith23)

Smith also shared the iconic video on his page, recounting how he received many racist remarks from white people earlier this year about Williams’ photo, calling it fake or an AI image. He decided to feature Williams as one of the models in this year’s show to prove that the activist and photographer was as fearless now as he was back then.

“People think the heinous and evil of Jim Crow was ancient times. Nah, people are STILL here who grew up in it,” Smith wrote in the post’s caption.

runway

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week