Opal Tometi

At the age of twenty-nine, Opal Tometi became one of three female co-founders of #BlackLivesMatter, an organization designed to spread awareness and create a Black-centered political movement in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin. Tometi currently serves as executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), a national organization that strives to grant immigrants the rights of American citizens. Tometi has continued to retain her deep Nigerian roots despite growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. She described her mission with #BlackLivesMatter by stating, “I have always felt like I want to change the course of history. I was in awe of previous Black liberation struggle leaders-Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. Black Lives Matter has been that.”