BLM Co-Founders: Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi

Photo from TIME Magazine

Patrisse Cullors

Alicia Garza

Opal Tometi

February 1st is the start of Black History Month and although we celebrate Black lives everyday, we wanted to dedicate today's #matriarchmonday post to the founders of Black Lives Matter - Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. These womxn have built upon the movement to protect Black lives and celebrate the love and beauty of a community, from the past, to the present, and into the future.

Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer and is now a global organization in what is known as the US, UK, and Canada. BLM's mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities thus creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy.

Patrisse is an artist, organizer, educator, and public speaker,from Los Angeles and in addition to her co-founding of BLM she is also the Founder of Dignity and Power Now. For the last 20 years, Patrisse has been on the frontlines of criminal justice reform and led Reform LA Jails.

Alicia is an activist and writer who has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for domestic workers, ending police brutality, anti-racism, and violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people of color. She currently directs Special Projects at the National Domestic Workers Alliance and is the Principal at the Black Futures Lab.

Opal is human rights activist, writer, strategist, and community organizer. Along with co-founding BLM, she is the former Executive Director of the United States’ first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI).

blacklivesmatter.com

Photo courtesy of Patrisse Cullors