Social Activism (U)

<p>Molly Barker is an American educator, social entrepreneur, and visionary. She is best known as the founder of Girls on the Run International, the self-esteem, youth-development and healthy lifestyle program for third- to eighth-grade girls. </p><p>Molly Barker started Girls on the Run International in 1996 with 13 girls in Charlotte, NC. Since then, the program has grown to include schools in all 50 states, inspiring over 2.5 million girls to know and activate their limitless potential.

<p>Former inner-city high school English teacher Erin Gruwell changed the lives of her students and became a change agent for the future of education with her philosophy of tolerance, respect, and the power of writing one’s own story.</p><p>Charged with turning around a class of low performing, underserved kids who lived in a community plagued by gang violence and racial hostility, Gruwell compared the family feud in <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> to a gang war and used the stories of Anne Frank and Zlata Filipović—students who wrote about their lives during wartime—t

<p><strong>Renowned activist, civil rights leader, community organizer and politician Benjamin Jealous outlines what it will take to secure true equality for all Americans and to empower the next generation to lead toward a better future.</strong></p><p>With a background in social justice advocacy, Ben brings a unique perspective to his role as Executive Director at the Sierra Club, focusing on issues of environmental justice, climate change, and conservation.

<p>For 40 years, photographer James Balog has broken new conceptual and artistic ground on one of the most important issues of our era: human modification of our planet’s natural systems. An avid mountaineer with a graduate degree in geography and geomorphology, James is equally at home on a Himalayan peak or a whitewater river, the African savannah or polar icecaps.</p><p>To reveal the impact of climate change, James founded the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS), the most wide-ranging, ground-based, photographic study of glaciers ever conducted.

<p>Eboo Patel is the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based institution building the global interfaith youth movement. He was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives, where he is working to realize the president’s priority of interfaith cooperation.</p><p>He is the author of <i>Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim</i>, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.

<p>With a story that is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton demonstrate that we are all capable of compassion and change, no matter how dire the circumstances. </p>

<p>With a timely message about the transformational power of protest, Janaya Khan is a leading activist who engages you in a profound discussion about social justice and equality.</p>

<p>Known as ‘Future’ within the Black Lives Matter movement, Janaya is a black, queer, gender-nonconforming activist (pronouns: they, them, theirs), staunch Afrofuturist and social-justice educator who presents an enlightening point of view on police brutality and systemic racism.</p>

<p>Alicia believes that Black communities deserve what all communities deserve -- to be powerful in every aspect of their lives.</p><p>An author, political strategist, organizer, and cheeseburger enthusiast, Alicia founded the Black Futures Lab to make Black communities powerful in politics.

<p>Michael Render aka Killer Mike - a nickname he received for 'killing the microphone' - is a Grammy award-winning rapper and actor who is making waves in the political arena for his gripping commentary on ongoing social issues confronting America.