Magnus Hirschfeld coined the terms 'transvestite' and 'transsexual'; founded the first gay rights organization in 1897 (Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee) [Scientific Humanitarian Committee]; founded the first LGBT clinic in 1919 (Institute für Sexualwissenschaft) [Institute for Sexual Science]; successfully lobbied for the first methods to reduce friction between trans people and the state (transvestitenschein) [transvestite license], which stated that it was medically necessary for trans people to live as their real gender. He and his colleagues at, and associated with, the Institute developed the foundations of the treatments we today collectively call 'gender affirming care', including HRT, vaginoplasty, orchi-, hysto-, and mastectomies for transition reasons, and hair removal regimens. He also fought very hard to repeal the German anti-sodomy statute, but ultimately was unsuccessful. The Scientific Humanitarian Committee and the Institute produced a huge amount of scientific and educational material aimed at informing the wider public about queer people in an attempt to reduce the stigma, including producing a film, Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others), about the dangerous effects marginalization has on queer people and how it makes them vulnerable to blackmail. It's available on youtube, though it's believed that the full version did not survive the Nazis. Speaking of, the first book burnings the Nazis carried out targeted the Institute, which destroyed the vast majority of the material it ever produced.

Also, as a neat anecdote, I've run into mentions that the Institute let members of the Comintern live in the suites there when needed, as Hirschfeld and the Institute were friendly with the KPD and SPD, as they were the only parties that supported the queer rights reforms they proposed.

I don't recall the name, but the Chinese agricultural researcher that invented hybrid rice is really cool and unknown. That's had a massive impact on calorie availability worldwide I think.

Dr. Clair Patterson, an American chemist. He originally worked on the Manhattan project, did the usual horrified soul-searching that a lot of scientists on that project did, then made two major peaceful accomplishments. First, he discovered the true age of Earth as part of a small research team. And second, his frustration with massive lead contamination in that experiment, and his knowledge of the neurological issues with lead, drove him to devote his life to eliminating lead use with largely successful results.

Sankara is great choice - he was largely unknown and is now forgotten by entire mainstream, which can have positive effect when he's mentioned, as he is also not demonised and not commonly known as communist, while his achievements are impressive and his words impactful. Pretty good for TikTok shorts.

I'm thinking of choosing Thomas Sankara.

I would market Thomas Sankara on TikTok with a 'Get Ready With Me' trend, where he could explain his famous military fatigues and red Beret, or a 'what I eat in a day' video, where he could talk about all the locally grown produce, and how he made Burkina Faso self sufficient. Maybe one of those 'whats your salary videos' to show how he was a servant of the people, incorruptible by money.

Sankara is great. You could also do Kwame Nkrumah who is less often discussed in the West. But both of them probably have lots of opportunities to use archival footage from Africa if it's available.

The first "niche changemaker" off the top of my head is William Stokoe, a linguist whose work with ASL led to the widespread recognition of sign languages as real, full-fledged, natural languages. This played a crucial role in Deaf education transitioning away from the oral method during the Civil Rights era, and has had huge impacts on Deaf culture and accessibility in general.

Given your addendum, Steve Jobs.

As I was just talking about in another post; Lucio Urtubia was a spanish bricklayer turned communist turned anarchist during Spain's Franco years. Urtubia got his start robbing banks with another famous resistance figure Francisco Sabaté. Urtubia went from robbing banks to forging passports, payroll checks, and eventually his big score was Travelers Cheques, in which he basically brought Capital One edit:City Bank to their knees. It's not widely known, but Urtubia played a major roll in financing leftist movements across the globe for decades.

Also, as I was saying in the other post this morning, this is what I think is largely missing from modern day leftist movements. We don't have a fundraiser, we've got grassroots, but there's no one out there that we know of building strike funds and resistance war chests.

I very much recommend the documentary I linked in that post trailer: Lucio (2007 and apparently there's a VERY DRAMATIZED movie on Netflix based on him called A Man of Action, which I'm gonna need to watch tonight.

Sankara is awesome too though! The Upright Man

Gaiseric, King of the Vandals, sacker of Rome and conqueror of Roman North Africa

'name a change maker who has inspired you... how you would reach 18-24 year olds on TikTok with their story?'

Was going to say Toussaint L’Overture but with this disclaimer, I’m going to go with

Jake Paul, without a doubt.

Most prominent leader to come out of the great TitTok cultural revolution. 6’3”, blue eyes, finance (ially succesful). Known for transcendental tiktok videos. Fierce warrior who has defeated the most fearsome people on the planet (eg Mike Tyson in his prime)

castro 👍

Someone like Garibaldi or Bolivar could work, if for some reason you want to go with an actual historical figure instead of, like, Katy Perry

idk if I have a favorite, per se, but i think Amilcar Cabral should be far less “niche” in the West than he currently is.