These famous activists shaped the world we live in today, thanks to their dedication to organizing, speaking out, and

demanding change.

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. During the
1950’s, King became active in the movement for civil rights and racial equality.
He participated in the Montgomery bus boycott and many other peaceful
demonstrations that protested the unfair treatment of African-Americans. Martin
Luther King Jr led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (or SCLC) in a
nation-wide campaign opposing racism and prejudice. His nonviolent protests
would shape the civil rights movement for years to come. He suffered alongside his
many African-American brothers and sisters to desegregate bathrooms, buses, and
restaurants. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his continued effort
in the opposition of racism. Of the countless speeches he gave at protests and rallies,
his "I Have a Dream" speech struck a cord with people, as it is still used today as a
rallying cry for equality. He was assassinated in April 4, 1968.

Rosa Parks was a major figurehead in the Civil Rights Movement. In Montgomery,
Alabama, she refused to give up her seat for a white man, which directly opposed
the segregation laws of Alabama. This action sparked a massive protest of the bus
system, led in part by Parks, which resulted in buses becoming de-segregated. This
would lead to Parks becoming one of the biggest political activists in the Civil Rights
movement, continuing her fight for equality until her death in 2005.

Nelson Mandela was the first democratic leader of South Africa, but
before that, he spent 20 years in prison for campaigning against
Apartheid in the nation. He campaigned to end Apartheid practices and
to promote racial equality in South Africa; he is considered the father of
the democratic South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
1993. He passed away in 2013.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education advocate who, at the age of 17, became the
youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt
by the Taliban. Born on July 12, 1997, Yousafzai became an advocate for girls'
education when she herself was still a child, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a
death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was
traveling home from school. She survived and has continued to speak out on the
importance of education. In 2013, she gave a speech to the United Nations and
published her first book, I Am Malala. In 2014, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.
 Oskar Schindler (1908–1974)
German and Catholic, Oskar Schindler was a ruthless industrialist and a member of the
Nazi party. Yet despite the foreboding bio, Schindler risked it all to rescue more than
1,000 Jews from deportation to Auschwitz during World War II.
Why did he help? In a 1964 interview he said, “The persecution of Jews in the General
Government in Polish territory gradually worsened in its cruelty. In 1939 and 1940, they
were forced to wear the Star of David and were herded together and confined in ghettos. In
1941 and 1942, this unadulterated sadism was fully revealed. And then a thinking man, who
had overcome his inner cowardice, simply had to help. There was no other choice.”
Schindler died in Germany, broke and virtually unknown, in 1974. Many of the people he
helped and their descendents financed the transfer of his body for burial in Israel, his final
wish. In 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council posthumously presented the
Museum's Medal of Remembrance to Schindler.

Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese professor, writer, and human rights activist who
received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 while still under detention in a Chinese
prison. Till date he has not been able to collect his prize in person. The citation and
the medal are displayed in the Oslo Hall waiting for him to collect them. He has
always been outspoken about the freedom of speech, human rights, democratic
elections and government reforms. This has not gone down well with the Chinese
government as he has been detained, imprisoned, kept under house arrest, and kept
incommunicado many times, even from his wife sometimes, during his life. He was
given a prison sentence of eleven years for writing the manifesto named ‘Charter
08’ and for ‘inciting subversion of state power.’ The manifesto called for the change
of the one-party rule in China, restoration of human rights, democratic elections,
and privatization of state organizations, land reforms and freedom of expression
among other things. He had gathered more than three hundred signatures in support of the manifesto which
increased to more than 10,000 signatures by 2010.

Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who became the primary leader of
India's independence movement. Better known as Mahatma Gandhi, he not only
led India to independence from British rule but also inspired movements for
civil rights and freedom across the world in several other countries. Best
remembered for his employment of nonviolent means of civil disobedience, he
led Indians in the Dandi Salt March to protest against the British-imposed salt
tax and launched the Quit India Movement, a mass protest demanding "an
orderly British withdrawal" from India. Born into a religious family in British
India, he was raised by parents who emphasized on religious tolerance,
simplicity and strong moral values. As a young man he went to England to study
law and later started working in South Africa. There he witnessed rampant acts
of racism and discrimination which angered him greatly. He spent over two decades in South Africa over the period
of which he developed a strong sense of social justice, and led several social campaigns. Upon his return to India he
became active in the Indian Independence Movement, ultimately leading his motherland to independence from the
British rule. He was also a social activist who campaigned for women’s rights, religious tolerance, and reduction of
poverty.

Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Little is
known about her early life, but at a young age, she felt a calling to be a nun and serve
through helping the poor. At the age of 18, she was given permission to join a group of
nuns in Ireland. After a few months of training, with the Sisters of Loreto, she was then
given permission to travel to India.
On her arrival in India, she began by working as a teacher; however, the widespread
poverty of Calcutta made a deep impression on her, and this led to her starting a new
order called “The Missionaries of Charity”. The primary objective of this mission
was to look after people, who nobody else was prepared to look after.
Her work spread around the world. By 2013, there were 700 missions operating in over 130 countries. The scope of
their work also expanded to include orphanages and hospices for those with terminal illnesses.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Madre Teresa

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” Malala

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. MLK

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Gandhi

It always seems impossible until it's done. Mandela

The only tired I was, was tired of giving in. Rosa Parks

I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. That's all there is to it. Really, nothing
more. Schindler

Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth. To strangle
freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, stifle humanity, and suppress truth. Liu Xiaobo