Civic News

10 Black activists you should follow on Twitter

This list is just a start. Tell us who we missed.

Black Lives Matter D.C. march against police brutality in October 2015. (From Black Lives Matter D.C.'s Facebook page)

Black activists in D.C. are working in all areas of justice, including reproductive rights, food security and combating sexism. Above all, they’re working to dismantle white supremacy and its legacy, which, in light of the recent election, is work that’s more important than ever. Here’s a list of ten Black organizers, writers and leaders in the District to follow on social media.
This is by no means a definitive list, so let us know who else we should know about.

###

1. @mdawriter

Melinda Anderson is an educator and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. Her articles discuss the effects of racial injustice, specifically in education. On Twitter, she holds media accountable for its coverage about race issues. She is also currently involved in the #FreeBresha campaign, which is working to get charges dropped for an Ohio teenager accused of killing her abusive father.

2. @2LiveUnchained

Erika Totten is the founder of To Live Unchained, an organization that works to support the “emotional emancipation,” community leadership development and the healing of Black people. She is also the cofounder of Black Lives Matter DC. She also frequently tweets with fellow activists @Nettaaaaaaaa and @MichelleHux.

3. @Agoggans

April Goggans is an organizer with Black Lives Matter DC. She is also a management and program analyst for the Administration of Children and Families. Goggans is active on Twitter, tweeting about police violence in D.C. and the importance of protest.

4. @jonathanlykes

Jonathan Lykes is a queer artist and policy analyst, working as a Black Youth Project 100 D.C. coordinating council member. BYP 100 is a collective of Black activists working toward expanding civil rights. He often tweets about the role of policy in affecting social change.

5. @BFC_CEO

George A. Jones is the CEO of Bread for the City, a nonprofit organization the provides food, clothing, medical care and legal services to underserved and vulnerable people in D.C. Jones has been CEO for 20 years and is also a board member of the Capital Area Food Bank of DC. He tweets most frequently about the impact of service.

6. @AmberJPhillips

Amber J. Phillips is a social justice organizer and digital organizer. She is the co-creator and cohost of The Black Joy Mixtape, a weekly Black feminist podcast, and a member of Echoing Ida, part of the Forward Together program, which seeks to amplify the voices of Black women in the media. Phillips is also on the board of directors of Sister Song, a collective of women of color for reproductive justice. She often tweets about her (and her mother’s) impatience with white feminism and the need for responsibility in parties across the political spectrum.

7. @JAZonyaMINE

Jazmine Walker is the second member of The Black Joy Mixtape duo. She has also contributed articles to Rewire about topics like reproductive justice. Walker can be found tweeting about the challenges of speaking out against racism and her love for Beyonce.

8. @msghopkins

Marion Gray-Hopkins cofounded the People’s Coalition for Police Accountability after her 19-year-old son, Gary, was killed by a police officer in 1993. She is also the cofounder and president of the Coalition of Concerned Mothers, an organization that supports the families of victims of police violence and seeks legislative change. Through her Twitter, she boosts news about police brutality and how to combat it through action like signing petitions.

9. @JFierce

Jessica Pierce is the national co-chair of BYP100. She has also worked with the NAACP as national training director in Baltimore. She is active on Twitter and Instagram, posting about her support of the Black activist community.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BLE-9lEDUka/?taken-by=jdotfierce

10. @Netfafree

Netfa Freeman is an organizer with Pan-African Community Action, a grassroots group of Black activists working for “community-based power,” according to its website. He also works with multiple other groups and companies, including left-wing think tank Institute for Policy Studies as program director and event coordinator and at WPFW Radio as a coproducer and cohost. Freeman tweets about events he attends, like IPS’ #AfterNov8 forum last week.

Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Donate to the Journalism Fund

Your support powers our independent journalism. Unlike most business-media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational contributions.

Trending

What internet speed do you really need?

How DC protesters are protecting themselves online while calling out the Trump administration

A car accident changed this engineer’s career trajectory — and mission 

Tech from London is helping people with disabilities use DC public transit

Technically Media