Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer, renowned for co-founding the Black Lives Matter movement. Her work focuses on issues such as health, student rights, domestic worker rights, and ending police violence. Garza serves as the Special Projects Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and is the founder of the Black Futures Lab, aiming to build Black political power and transform Black communities. Her writings have appeared in publications like The Guardian, The Nation, The Feminist Wire, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, and Truthout.

Alicia Garza was born in Oakland, California, and raised in Marin County by her African-American mother and Jewish stepfather. Her early activism began at the age of 12, when she advocated for sex education and access to birth control information in her school. During her time at the University of California, San Diego, she was actively involved in student activism, working at the student health center and participating in movements advocating for higher wages for campus janitors. In her final year, she co-organized the first Women of Color Conference at UCSD in 2002.

After graduating, Garza continued her commitment to social justice by working with various organizations focused on health, rights for domestic workers, and combating police violence. In 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Garza penned a heartfelt Facebook post that concluded with the phrase "Black Lives Matter." This post resonated widely and, together with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, she transformed the phrase into a global movement advocating against systemic racism and violence toward Black communities. Beyond BLM, Garza founded the Black Futures Lab in 2018 to engage Black communities politically and effect policy change. Her unwavering dedication has solidified her as a pivotal figure in contemporary civil rights activism.