Claudette Colvin (b. 1939): Nine months before Rosa Parks, a 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. She was arrested and later became a key plaintiff in the landmark Browder v. Gayle Supreme Court case that officially ruled bus segregation unconstitutional.
Iqbal Masih (1983–1995): Sold into bonded labor at a carpet factory in Pakistan at age 4, Iqbal escaped at age 10. He became a powerful international spokesperson for the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, speaking out against child slavery. His activism helped free thousands of children. Tragically, he was assassinated at age 12, but his legacy spurred global anti-child-labor movements.
Greta Thunberg (b. 2003): Began her solitary "School Strike for Climate" outside the Swedish parliament at age 15. Her unwavering demand for scientific accountability and climate justice sparked a global youth movement involving millions, forcing world leaders to address environmental policy with unprecedented urgency.