In the history of this country, in the ongoing fight against racial oppression, against a white supremacist narrative, and against the racial apartheid laws that were passed and upheld, there have always been gear-shifting moments when individual people have taken a stand.

Gears shift when we choose to fight, when we choose to stand up, and when we refuse to back down. The moral arc of the universe does not bend on its own toward justice, it bends because we push it and because we are willing to continue to do it until change does happen.

On the night of February 9, 2025, Kendrick Lamar did what few artists have dared to do before him: he used the Super Bowl halftime stage—a global stage that has historically been reserved for flashy spectacles and mindless entertainment—to make a powerful statement on Black identity, cultural pride, and resistance. He was not there to simply perform; Lamar was there to deliver a masterclass on the power of Hip Hop as a tool for social commentary, a space where art, activism, and revolution can all coexist.

The Greensboro Sit‑in was a major civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young Black students staged a sit‑in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Though many of the protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, their actions made an immediate and lasting impact, forcing Woolworth’s and other establishments to change their segregationist policies.

The Panthers’ popular breakfast programs put pressure on political leaders to feed children before school. In 1969, a group of children sat down to a free breakfast before school. On the menu: chocolate milk, eggs, meat, cereal and fresh oranges. The scene wouldn’t be out of place in a school cafeteria these days—but the federal government wasn’t providing the food. Instead, breakfast was served thanks to the Black Panther Party.

The oral history of Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad tomato could easily fit on an index card, with room to spare. As the story goes, a Black man entered Ohio from bordering Kentucky. No details about when he made this journey are available, but it may have been during slavery or well after emancipation.

On June 25, 1978, the ninth anniversary of the Stonewall Riot in New York City, Harvey Milk gave an impassioned speech to his fellow San Franciscans celebrating Gay Freedom Day. At the time, LGBTQ+ individuals around the country were dealing with state and local initiatives looking to “protect children” by overturning equal rights ordinances.

Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.