60's and 70's Activists/Protesters/Intellectuals

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Baptist preacher and most well-known civil rights leader; advocated nonviolent protest and civil disobedience against segregation; gave "I Have a Dream" speech and wrote "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"; assassinated in 1968 *NOT present at MotM

Stokely Carmichael

originally in favor of non-violence; later as chairman of SNCC, he repudiated nonviolence and advocated "black power" and racial separatism

Huey P. Newton

Black Panther founder and leader, organized the party for self defense

Malcolm X

charismatic Black Muslim leader who promoted black power and separatism in the early 1960s; advocated gun ownership for defense among African-Americans *NOT present at MotM

George Wallace

Alabama governor best known for his pro-segregation attitudes during the Civil Rights Movement; made the symbolic "stand in the schoolhouse door" at the University of Alabama

Dolores Huerta

Labor organizer who helped create the National Farm Worker Association (NFWA) with the goal of improving pay and working conditions for predominantly Hispanic farm workers; used a nationwide boycott of table grapes to hurt farm employers and force better pay

Betty Friedan

American Feminist, writer of The Feminine Mystique, co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW)

Gloria Steinem

feminist leader and writer who sought to raise the public's awareness of women's issues; founded Ms. magazine; supported passage of the Equal Rights Amendment

Barry Goldwater

Republican candidate for President in 1964, and initial leader of the conservative movement; "In your heart, you know he's right!"

Phyllis Schlafly

Anti-feminist who led the campaign to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) claiming it would undermine the american family and conservative values

Rachel Carson

biologist and author of Silent Spring; helped influence environmental awareness and banning of DDT; credited with starting the modern environmental movement

Tom Hayden

co-founder of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); supported the New Left movement and drafted the Port Huron Statement.

Ralph Nader

wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed" (1960s) that exposed auto industry dangers and helped to create the modern consumer movement

Mario Savio

student activist and leader of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California--Berkeley

Linus Pauling

Nobel Prize-winning scientist who appealed to the United Nations for a ban on nuclear tests; his efforts led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Russell Means

one of American Indian Movement's (AIM) best known leaders emphasizing the importance of Native American property rights

Abbie Hoffman

political and social activist and anarchist who co-founded the Youth International Party (Yippies) and promoted anti-war and freedom of speech causes using "gorilla theater" and other attention-grabbing tactics

Michael Harrington

influential author who wrote The Other America, a book which concluded that 20% of people in America were below the poverty line; co-founder of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Paul R. Ehrlich

scientist and author who warned of the dangers of rampant population growth; wrote The Population Bomb

Billy Graham

Preacher and spiritual advisor to multiple presidents who spoke out against segregation and was also one of the first "televangelists" to use the medium of TV to reach a mass audience

Alan Bakke

California medical school student who challenged affirmative action quotas and won; his challenged symbolized the reverse discrimination backlash against affirmative action

Norma McCorvey

the "Roe" in the Roe v. Wade landmark abortion case in 1973; originally pro-choice but changed her attitudes to pro-life

Alfred Kinsey

conducted the first large-scale survey of American sexual attitudes and behaviors

Audre Lorde

poet and author who used her writing to shine a light on her experience as a Black lesbian woman; she became a prominent member of the women's and LGBTQ rights movements, her writings called attention to the multifaceted nature of identity and the ways in which people from different walks of life could grow stronger together