This Black Futures Month, we’re honoring the legacy and lessons of those who laid blueprints for liberation that are as relevant as ever. For generations, Black organizers have responded to systemic harm with vision and strategy—building what our communities need to sustain themselves and shift power. Through the harshest, most violent conditions, their efforts resulted in tangible, lasting change. Today, as we navigate rising authoritarianism and an erosion of our civil liberties, this legacy is a grounding—a playbook for how power is built, defended, and sustained under pressure.
This Black Futures Month, we are honored to spotlight movement wisdom from those organizing today, and decades ago. While the leaders highlighted here reflect just a sliver of the vast lineage of Black organizers, we lift them up to honor the deep collective knowledge that continues to guide and grow movements for love and justice.
“My own personal identity is very much tied to who I am as a woman of color and as a disabled person, and I try not to distinguish between the three identities anymore.”
Johnnie Lacy (1937–2010)
Lesson: Build systems around those most impacted—and let them lead.
In the 1970s, when disabled folks—especially Black disabled folks—were confined to nursing homes or state institutions, Johnnie Lacy organized for community-based alternatives. At The Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, she helped build programs for accessible housing, transportation, and attendant care created by disabled folks and challenged a disability system built around white experiences. By expanding services that moved decision-making into the hands of disabled folks, Johnnie helped build a model of disability services shaped by what disabled folks say they need—one that continues to guide independent living programs today.
Kimberly White/Getty Images
“I am determined to make sure that we are remembered as human beings, not just statistics.”
Monica Roberts (1962–2020)
Lesson: Community-rooted storytelling affirms life and forces accountability.
In the early 2000s, as Black trans women were being killed and erased from the public record—misnamed, misgendered, and ignored by police and media—Monica Roberts, a Black trans reporter, stepped in to document what the media was ignoring. She founded TransGriot to document killings, dismantle police narratives, challenge misgendering, and demand accountability from journalists and public officials. By centering Black trans voices and honoring the wholeness of their lives, Monica shifted how stories were told and set a new standard for community-centered journalism that continues to shape reporting today.
“We who have been the victims of the most unscrupulous practices by merchants, by landlords, by employers, by public officials, we know something about lawlessness.”
Whitney M. Young Jr. (1921–1971)
Lesson: Economic justice requires policy and action.
In the 1960s, as civil rights wins failed to deliver impactful economic stability for Black communities, Whitney M. Young Jr. pushed the federal government to produce real material changes. As executive director of the National Urban League, he pushed the ten-point “Domestic Marshall Plan” calling for large federal investment in jobs, housing, education, and health care. He helped shape War on Poverty programs, directing federal aid into Black communities, and launched initiatives like Street Academy to support youth locked out of traditional education. By linking economic opportunity to policy, funding, and accountability, Whitney helped create real, tangible material support for Black communities.
“Our Bodies, ourselves is the bible for women’s health–It has served as a way for women, across ethnic, racial, religious, and geographical boundaries, to start examining their health from a perspective that will bring about change.”
Byllye Avery (1947– )
Lesson: Community safety depends on people having control over their bodies and access to health care.
In the 1970s and 1980s, as Black women faced high rates of preventable illness and had little access to or were excluded from receiving health care, Byllye Avery organized outside mainstream medical systems to fill that gap. She founded the National Black Women’s Health Project to provide community-based health education, peer support, and advocacy focused on reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and chronic illness. By treating Black women’s lived experience as expertise, Byllye helped shift public health conversations to focus on women’s self-identified needs, laying the groundwork for what later became known as the “reproductive justice” movement.
“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.
Philip Randolph (1889–1979)
Lesson: Lasting change is built through organized, sustained collective power.
From the 1920s to the 1940s, as Black workers were locked out of unions and excluded from New Deal protections, A. Philip Randolph organized to make sure Black folks received protection and support. He built the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters into the first recognized Black labor union which secured better wages, hours, and working conditions for thousands of workers. He later forced federal action by threatening mass protest, leading to Executive Order 8802, which banned racial discrimination in defense industries and created pathways for job opportunities. By advocating at the federal level for greater protections, A. Phillip helped Black workers obtain better wages, safer working conditions, and jobs that had previously been excluded.
Carrying the Torch Forward: Funders’ Roles Today
Across generations, Black organizers have built power under conditions designed to exclude and control them. Working across narrative, disability, economic, and reproductive justice, these leaders show us that movements are inseparable and that liberation is built through interconnected strategies—strategies that are especially important in this sociopolitical moment.
For funders, honoring their wisdom and wins means acting with intention and consistency—not only in moments of crisis, but through an ongoing commitment to the movements that are creating a more just future for all. In practice, that looks like:
- Providing unrestricted, multi-year funding so organizers can respond to rapidly changing landscapes and sustain their work over time.
- Investing across the full ecosystem of change, including policy advocacy, narrative work, community care, and movement infrastructure, because movements are interconnected and thus strongest when resourced together.
- Following the leadership of those closest to the solutions, especially those navigating overlapping systems of harm, where solutions are continually being tested and refined.
- Staying in authentic relationships with movements for the long haul—listening, learning, and resourcing work that is already happening.
At Borealis, we are moving resources in alignment with this collective wisdom and learning alongside the movements shaping our future. We invite funders to join our funding community to pool and distribute resources to the front lines of intersectional movements for justice. To learn more about how to partner with us, please connect with us.