Opal Tometi
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| Name | Opal Tometi |
| Caption | Opal Tometi in 2015 |
| Birth date | 1984 |
| Birth place | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University; University of Arizona |
| Occupation | Activist, writer, community organizer, strategist |
| Known for | Co‑founder of Black Lives Matter |
| Awards | Time 100 (2015), Ford Foundation fellowship |
Opal Tometi
Opal Tometi (born 1984) is an American human rights advocate, strategist, and community organizer best known as a co‑founder of Black Lives Matter. Her work bridges racial justice, immigrant rights, and digital organizing, making her a significant figure in contemporary civil rights struggles in the United States. Tometi's leadership emphasizes coalition building across movements for racial equity, migrant justice, and participatory democracy.
Early life and influences
Tometi was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona to Nigerian immigrant parents of Yoruba descent. Her family background and early experiences in a Southwestern city shaped her perspective on immigration, colonial histories, and racialized policing. She studied African studies and international relations at Arizona State University and later earned a master's focusing on global governance and human rights from the University of Arizona. Influences include transnational human rights frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and activists across the African diaspora, as well as U.S. civil rights leaders like Ella Baker and contemporary organizers such as Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors—the fellow co‑founders with whom she launched a movement that reoriented national attention toward police violence and structural racism.
Activism and community organizing
Tometi's early career centered on immigrant advocacy and community development. She worked with grassroots organizations in Phoenix addressing deportation, language access, and civic participation, collaborating with groups like Puente Arizona and local nonprofits. Her organizing combined direct legal support, voter engagement, and public education campaigns. Tometi also engaged in transnational solidarity networks connecting U.S. racial justice campaigns with human rights work in Nigeria and the broader African continent, emphasizing the impact of U.S. foreign policy, neocolonialism, and economic exclusion on diasporic communities.
Black Lives Matter co-founding and national impact
In 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, Tometi, along with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors, helped create the hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter" as a political and mobilizing project. Tometi led digital strategy and organizational infrastructure during the movement's early national expansion after the 2014 police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City. She helped institutionalize the movement's decentralized model, coordinating with local chapters, allied organizations like the NAACP, and protest networks involved in actions such as the Ferguson protests and the 2014–2016 Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Under her stewardship, BLM evolved into a global conversation on policing, mass incarceration, and systemic racism, influencing policy debates in municipal government, state legislatures, and national platforms including the Democratic Party's discussions on criminal justice reform.
Advocacy for immigrant rights and policy reform
Tometi has been a prominent voice connecting racial justice to immigrant and refugee rights. She advanced campaigns opposing mass deportation policies implemented during the Obama administration and intensified under subsequent administrations, advocating for alternatives to detention and family unity. Her policy work engaged with institutions such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in public forums and pushed for municipal "know your rights" initiatives, sanctuary policies, and expanded access to naturalization and civic participation. Tometi's advocacy foregrounded the specific vulnerabilities of Black immigrants, Afro‑Latinx communities, and undocumented people of African descent, pressing for policy reforms that address racial profiling, policing of immigrant communities, and intersectional discrimination.
Digital strategy, communications, and media work
A strategic communicator, Tometi played a central role in shaping the media narratives of contemporary activism. She designed digital campaigns using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to amplify cases of police violence, coordinate protests, and disseminate resources for legal defense and mutual aid. Tometi has written essays and opinion pieces for outlets including The New York Times and The Guardian, and she has lectured at academic and civic institutions such as Harvard University and community colleges about movement building, digital security, and narrative power. Her media work stresses accountable storytelling, centering survivors' voices, and challenging mainstream framings that criminalize protest. She has also trained organizers in strategic communications and participatory media to support sustained grassroots pressure on policymakers.
Recognition, awards, and legacy within the US civil rights movement
Tometi's role in co‑founding Black Lives Matter brought international recognition: she was named to the Time 100 list of most influential people and has received fellowships and awards from foundations like the Ford Foundation and civil society organizations. Her legacy is tied to a broader resurgence of movement politics that revived attention to police violence, the school‑to‑prison pipeline, and mass incarceration—issues historically central to the Civil Rights Movement. Scholars and activists cite her contributions to intersectional coalition building that links racial justice with immigrant rights, feminist praxis, and global human rights. Tometi continues to mentor organizers, contribute to policy debates on criminal justice and immigration, and promote equitable civic participation as core elements of a modern US civil rights agenda.
Category:American civil rights activists Category:Black Lives Matter Category:Living people Category:Arizona State University alumni