Patrisse Cullors

Patrisse Cullors is an American activist, artist, and writer. She is well known for helping to start the Black Lives Matter movement.

She was born on June 20, 1983, in Los Angeles, California. Her early life was shaped by many different experiences. She grew up in a neighborhood called Van Nuys. This area was part of the San Fernando Valley. Her family faced many hard times with money. Her mother, Cherice Foley, raised her children. Her stepfather, Alton Cullors, worked in a car plant. Later, he left the family.

Cullors learned about fairness and social change very early. As a teenager, she joined the Bus Riders Union. This group was led by a man named Eric Mann. She also joined a special program at Grover Cleveland High School. This program focused on social justice. She later went to college to study religion and philosophy at UCLA. She also earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California. These studies helped her understand the world. She also found meaning in different spiritual traditions like Ifá.

In 2013, Cullors helped create a major new movement. She worked with two other organizers named Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. They started Black Lives Matter after a court case involving Trayvon Martin. Cullors created the famous hashtag to help the movement grow online.

The movement was built to be decentralized. This means it was run by many different groups together. In 2015, a large network of chapters was formed. Cullors became a very public face for this work. She used social media to show the world important issues.

Cullors has worked on many different goals for justice. She wants to change how jails and police work. She co-founded a group called Dignity and Power Now. This group helped create a board to watch over the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. She also works for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Her ideas are inspired by many thinkers. She looks to people like Angela Davis and bell hooks for ideas. She also studies the work of thinkers like Karl Marx. She believes in using nonviolent direct action to make changes.

Cullors has shared her story through many different projects. In 2018, she published a book called "When They Call You a Terrorist." It became a bestseller in the United States. The book tells the story of her life and her activism. She wrote a second book in 2022 called "An Abolitionist's Handbook."

She also makes shows for television and film. She worked on a series for YouTube called "Resist." In 2021, she stepped down from her main role in the Black Lives Matter Foundation. She wanted to focus on her writing and her new TV deals. She believes that no movement needs only one leader.