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March 2nd we Honor:
Angela Davis is a prominent American Marxist activist, philosopher, and academic championing prison abolition, racial justice, and intersectional feminism.
A founding member of Critical Resistance, she fights the "prison-industrial complex" and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, economic equality, and liberation movements worldwide. Her lifelong activism focuses on dismantling systemic oppression.
Key causes Angela Davis champions include:
- Prison Abolition: She is a leading voice in dismantling the U.S. prison system and is a co-founder of Critical Resistance, an organization dedicated to this cause.
- Intersectional Feminism & Racial Justice: Her work focuses on the interconnected issues of race, class, and gender, challenging systemic inequality.
- Anti-Capitalism & Socialism: As a long-time member of the Communist Party USA and later the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, she advocates for systemic economic change.
- LGBTQ+ Rights & Human Rights: Davis has been an outspoken ally and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and queer liberation.
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Internationalism: She supports global solidarity movements, including the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights.
Davis has worked as an academic, teaching philosophy and history of consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, while authoring influential books like Women, Race, & Class and Are Prisons Obsolete?.
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March 3rd we Honor:
Barbara Jordan was a pioneering American politician, lawyer, and educator who became a national champion for the U.S. Constitution, civil rights, and marginalized communities. She is best known for her unwavering commitment to the rule of law, her powerful oratory during the Watergate hearings, and her historic role in expanding the Voting Rights Act to protect language minorities.
Key Advocacy and Legislative Achievements
Throughout her career in the Texas Senate (1966–1972) and the U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1979), Jordan championed several core causes:
- Voting Rights: Jordan considered the right to vote the "paramount civil right". In 1975, she successfully led the effort to expand the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to include "language minorities," providing legal protections for Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American voters.
- Constitutional Integrity: During the 1974 Nixon impeachment hearings, she gained national fame for her defense of the Constitution, famously stating, "My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total".
- Labor and the Working Class: In the Texas Senate, she developed the state’s first minimum wage law and worked on anti-discrimination clauses in state business contracts.
- Women’s Rights: She was a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment and co-sponsored legislation to provide Social Security benefits to housewives based on their domestic labor.
- Social Justice: She supported the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which required banks to serve poor and minority communities, and funded programs to combat hate crimes.
Historic "Firsts"
Jordan was a trailblazer, becoming the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate, the first from a Southern state in the U.S. House, and the first woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention.
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March 4th we Honor:
Kehlani is a prominent champion for marginalized communities, specifically advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, Palestinian humanitarian aid, and immigrant rights. They consistently use their global platform, including major award stages like the Grammys, to speak out against systemic injustice and encourage community action.
Core Advocacy Areas
- LGBTQ+ Rights and Visibility: Kehlani identifies as a lesbian and uses she/they pronouns, frequently advocating for the queer and trans community. They have donated $50,000 to various LGBTQ centers across the U.S. that provide mental health services and safe spaces for at-risk youth.
- Humanitarian Aid (Palestine, Sudan, Congo): Kehlani has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian people, raising over $555,000 for families in Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo through merchandise sales related to their song "Next 2 U". This activism has faced industry backlash, resulting in canceled deals and performance opportunities.
- Immigrant Rights: During their 2026 Grammy acceptance speech, Kehlani made a bold political statement against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging fellow artists to unite against such institutions.
- Native American and Indigenous Representation: As a Native American artist, Kehlani works to open doors for underrepresented backgrounds, participating in discussions regarding indigenous rights and the protection of Native lands.
- Mental Health: They openly discuss their own mental health journey, connecting their musical reflections to their emotional state and advocating for mental health initiatives within marginalized communities.
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March 5th we Honor:
Janelle Monáe is a champion for LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, and gender equity. As an outspoken activist, they blend their artistry with social commentary to advocate for systemic change, inclusivity, and the empowerment of marginalized groups, specifically focusing on Black women and non-binary youth.
LGBTQIA+ Rights and Mental Health
Monáe, who identifies as non-binary and pansexual, is a prominent advocate for the queer community.
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Suicide Prevention: In 2022, they were named Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year by
The Trevor Project
for their work supporting LGBTQ+ youth mental health.
- Representation: They use their platform to increase visibility for trans and non-binary individuals, vowing never to remain silent against injustices facing these communities.
Legislative Activism: Monáe has pledged to actively fight against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being passed across the United States.
Racial Justice and Black Liberation
Monáe is a longtime activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, often integrating protest into their music and performances.
- "Say Her Name": They released a 17-minute protest anthem, "Say Her Name," which serves as a tribute to Black women lost to police brutality and racial injustice.
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Anti-Brutality: Through songs like "Hell You Talmbout," Monáe encourages audiences to speak the names of victims of racial violence, such as
Sandra Bland
and
Mike Brown
.
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Policy Reform: They have publicly supported defunding and disbanding the police to redistribute those funds into education and healthcare systems for oppressed communities.
Gender Equity and Education
Monáe advocates for the empowerment of women and girls, specifically focusing on creating opportunities in the arts.
- Fem the Future: Monáe founded this nonprofit to provide under-resourced girls and non-binary youth of color with opportunities in music, arts, and education.
- Intersectional Feminism: Their work champions an inclusive feminism that celebrates all women, regardless of their biology or gender expression, intentionally moving away from "white feminism" that erases the struggles of women of color.
- Voting Rights: They serve as a co-chair for When We All Vote, an initiative aimed at increasing participation in every election.
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March 6th we Honor:
Queen Latifah is a champion for
women's empowerment, racial equality, and LGBTQ+ advocacy, challenging Eurocentric beauty and social standards. As a pioneer in hip-hop, she advocates for women in entertainment, founding the Queen Collective to mentor women filmmakers of color and supporting Black creators.
Key areas Queen Latifah champions include:
Social & Cultural Advocacy
- Women’s Empowerment & Equality: She has long been considered a feminist pioneer in hip-hop, using her platform to uplift women and fight against discrimination.
- Black Artists and Storytellers: Through the Queen Collective, she provides resources and mentorship for women of color in filmmaking to increase representation behind the camera.
- LGBTQ+ Advocacy: She is a known advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
- Heart Health & Caregiving: Following her mother's illness, she became an advocate for heart health and support for caregivers.
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Challenging Social Norms: Throughout her career, she has challenged Eurocentric beauty ideals and represented the Black, female body with confidence.
Her work as a producer and artist consistently highlights narratives of resilience and unity.
Community & Philanthropy
- Education: She supports the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation, which provides financial aid to students in struggling neighborhoods.
- Affordable Housing: She has personally invested in real estate development in her hometown of Newark to provide affordable housing.
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Health Awareness: Following her mother’s illness, she became a champion for heart health, advocating for better self-care and awareness of heart disease
Entertainment Milestones
- Hip-Hop Pioneer: She was the first female rapper to have an album certified Gold (Black Reign) and the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- National Honors: In 2023, she became the first female rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honor.
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March 7th we Honor:
Jeanne Córdova (1948–2016) was a pioneering Chicana activist, author, and journalist who championed
lesbian feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and gay-friendly journalism. As a prominent 1970s West Coast leader, she founded The Lesbian Tide, fought the Briggs Initiative, and established the Community Yellow Pages, leaving a legacy of advocacy.
- LGBTQ+ & Lesbian Rights: She was a prominent leader in the 1970s, serving as president of the Daughters of Bilitis (Los Angeles) and fighting for lesbian representation in the women's movement.
- Lesbian Feminist Journalism: Known as a "trailblazer" in lesbian journalism, she edited The Lesbian Tide (1970–1980), elevating it to a national voice for the feminist movement.
- Political Activism: She helped defeat the anti-gay Briggs Initiative (Prop 6) in 1978 and the 1986 AIDS quarantine measure (Prop 64).
- Community Building: She founded the Los Angeles Lesbian Center (1971), co-founded the Lesbian Legacy Coalition, and created the Community Yellow Pages(1981), the first major LGBTQ+ business directory.
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Author and Archivist: Her award-winning memoir, When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love and Revolution, documented the lesbian rights movement, for which she won a Lambda Literary Award.
The NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists awards a scholarship in her name to support journalists covering the LGBTQ+ community.
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