Celebrating 13 years of Black Lives Matter and the people moving the work forward.
In honor of our 13th anniversary, we’re proud to introduce the Dreamers & Disruptors Awards, recognizing the leaders building Black futures across the country.
Join us in celebrating the Dreamers & Disruptors Award recipients.
As we face one of the most challenging moments in BLM’s history, mourning the killing of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, demanding answers in the death of Nolan Wells, and responding to the continued violence impacting our communities, we are reminded that this work has never been more urgent.
Through seven award categories inspired by BLM’s six foundational pillars, plus a Next-Gen category recognizing emerging youth leaders, the Dreamers & Disruptors Awards celebrate the organizers, healers, culture builders, and changemakers advancing Black liberation every day.
In the face of unimaginable loss, these leaders continue to answer the call with unwavering commitment. Their leadership reminds us that this movement lives in the people.
Dreamer
Tristien Marcellous Winfree (New York, NY) is a Harlem-based actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and educator creating stories that reflect the fullness of Black life. Through his original series PROGRESS, he explores grief, love, healing, and the quiet beauty of everyday Black relationships, challenging media narratives that too often reduce our communities to trauma.
By using storytelling as a catalyst for reflection and dialogue, he reminds us that authentic representation expands how we see ourselves and one another.
View Tristien’s work:
IG: @Tmarcellousw
IG: @Progresstheseries
Disruptor
Dawn Jeffrey (Little Rock, AR) is a community organizer, abolitionist, and Founder of the Little Rock Freedom Fund, advancing justice through grassroots organizing across Arkansas. From mobilizing efforts that prevented millions in new police funding to supporting incarcerated Black mothers and building community-led alternatives to policing, she transforms resistance into action.
She isn’t just fighting unjust systems. She’s helping Black communities build the power to outgrow them.
View Dawn’s work:
Builder
Zedé Harut (Minneapolis, MN) is the Founder and Executive Director of Seeds Worth Sowing, an organization building the blueprint for a new model of Black community care rooted in mutual aid, shared leadership, and lasting stability. Through the Community Welfare System, she has built an innovative framework connecting housing, maternal health, reentry support, and mutual aid into lasting infrastructure.
Her vision moves beyond crisis response, creating the conditions for Black families and communities to thrive for generations.
View Zedé’s work:
Healer
Ashley McGirt (Seattle, WA / San Diego, CA) is a licensed therapist, author, and Founder of the Therapy Fund Foundation, expanding access to culturally responsive mental health care for Black communities. Through free therapy, youth leadership programs, and healing-centered spaces, she has helped thousands access the support they deserve.
Grounded in the belief that healing is a form of resistance, her work ensures Black people restore their joy and wellness.
View Ashley’s work:
IG: @Therapywithash
Therapy Fund Foundation
TEDx Talk: Dying While Black
Advocate
Chlo’e Edwards (Glen Allen, VA) is a policy strategist, restorative justice advocate, and Founder of Her Changes and Transformative Changes, advancing community-led solutions. Through youth organizing and coalition building, she helped advance landmark restorative justice reforms that will reshape how Virginia schools support young people.
Her work demonstrates that when communities lead, policy transforms into a pathway for healing justice and lasting change.
View Chlo’e’s work:
IG/Threads/X: @chloeiedwards
Her Changes
Transformative Changes
Nurturer
Brianna Baker (Arlington, VA) is the Founder and Executive Director of Justice for Black Girls, a national institution advancing the scholarship, safety, and liberation of Black girls. Through research, education, organizing, and storytelling, she has built spaces where Black girls are recognized as thinkers, creators, researchers, and leaders.
By investing in Black girls’ brilliance, she is helping shape the institutions and futures they deserve.
View Brianna’s work:
Next-Gen
Jay’Shun Mathews (Atlanta, GA) is the Founder and Executive Director of the Black Youth Empowerment Network (BYEN), empowering the next generation of Black leaders through civic engagement, mentorship, and community organizing. What began as a vision in high school has grown into a national, youth-led movement connecting Black young people with the tools, relationships, and opportunities to lead.
His work proves Black youth aren’t waiting for the future. They’re building it now.
View Jay’Shun’s work:
Follow BLM @blklivesmatter on Instagram, Threads, and X to learn more about the work they’re leading nationwide.