“Black Lives Matter started from a post that I put on Facebook after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I woke up in the middle of the night sobbing, just trying to process what had happened and wanting to find community around being in a lot of grief and having a lot of rage.”

American civil rights activist and writer

Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a prominent voice for social and racial justice, especially on behalf of Black women, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants. Her writing and public speaking focus on race, gender, and inequality. Her work has appeared in outlets including Time, Mic, Marie Claire, Elle, Essence, The Guardian, The Nation, The Feminist Wire, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, and Truthout.