Voices Against Tyranny: 10 Progressive Thinkers And Activists Who Are Inspiring The Struggle Today

Frederick Douglass

History doesn’t just move forward— it speaks to us, whether we want to listen or not. Every fight for justice, every push for equality, every stand against authoritarianism leaves behind a trail of lessons. Today, as we face our own very series threats to democracy, we can draw strength from the thinkers and activists who challenged the powerful and inspired change in their own times. Here are ten who left a mark— and whose words and actions still point the way forward.

1. Frederick Douglass— Freedom’s Orator

Born into slavery, Douglass escaped and became one of America’s greatest orators and writers. His relentless advocacy for abolition and universal suffrage reminds us that democracy must be inclusive or it will be democracy in name only.

2. Ella Baker— Power in the Hands of the People

A quiet force behind the Civil Rights Movement, Baker rejected the “great man” model, building grassroots networks that empowered ordinary people to lead. She taught that movements must be built from the bottom up.

3. Howard Zinn— History from the Ground Up

Historian, activist, and author of A People’s History of the United States, Zinn recentered American history on the struggles of workers, women, and people of color— a radical act against official narratives designed to sanitize power.

4. Grace Lee Boggs— Revolutionary Humanism

Philosopher and activist in Detroit’s labor and Black Power movements, Boggs argued that revolution is not just about overthrowing systems, but transforming ourselves and our communities.

5. Pauli Murray— Intersectional Pioneer

Lawyer, poet, priest, and activist, Murray’s legal arguments laid the groundwork for landmark civil rights victories. She fought for gender equality decades before “intersectionality” had a name.

6. Angela Davis— Freedom Is a Constant Struggle

Scholar, author, and prison abolitionist, Davis has consistently challenged systemic racism, mass incarceration, and capitalism’s grip on democracy— and still speaks truth to power today.

7. Bernie Sanders— A Political Revolution

Independent Vermont senator and two-time presidential candidate, Sanders brought democratic socialism back into mainstream conversation, inspiring a new generation to challenge economic oligarchy.

8. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez— A New Progressive Wave

From a bartender in the Bronx to Congress, AOC’s unapologetic advocacy for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and equity in governance shows that political change can come from outside the establishment.

9. Ta-Nehisi Coates— Unflinching Truth-Teller

Author and essayist, Coates has forced a reckoning with America’s history of racial injustice, particularly through his writing on reparations and structural racism.

10. Noam Chomsky— The Propaganda Critic

For decades, Chomsky has dissected how media and corporate power shape public opinion— and how propaganda operates in democratic societies just as in authoritarian ones.

These figures remind us that democracy’s health depends on both resistance to injustice and the construction of something better. They didn’t all agree on tactics, but they shared a core belief: tyranny is never inevitable, and people have the power to fight it. History’s heroes can’t win today’s battles for us— but they can light the path.