Kochiyama was a civil rights activist who fought for the anti-war movement, black power, and atonement for Japanese internment.
2. Queen Liliuokalani
Adding historical context to the phrase “Yas Kween,” Queen Liliuokalani was the first female monarch of Hawaii and last sovereign of the Kamehameha dynasty (which ruled Hawaii since 1810) after its U.S. annex in 1898.
3. Sarojini Naidu
A child prodigy and poet, Naidu was the first female president of the India National Congress AND first female governor of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
4. Grace Lee Boggs
Considered the eldest human rights activist of our time, Boggs was a philosopher who fought for women’s rights, environmental justice, black power (alongside Angela Davis and Malcolm X), and labor rights.
5. Corazon Aquino
Having served as the first female president of the Philippines, Aquino’s leadership stemmed from opposition to then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
6.
Anna May Wong
Considered the first Chinese-American film star, Wong gained international recognition through dozens of movies in Hollywood and Europe.
7.
Trung Sisters
The Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, were freedom fighters who led a rebellion against the Chinese Han-dynasty with a group consisting mostly of women fighters in 40 A.D., briefly establishing a sovereign state.
8.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Winner of a Nobel Peace Prize and recipient of a Congressional Gold Medal, Suu Kyi is a politician and writer whose activism started with peaceful movements for democracy.
9.
Maya Lin
Lin is a designer and architect who, at the age of 21, designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. NBD.
10.
Phoolan Devi
Devi’s story bears remarkable similarities to a blockbuster film: Nicknamed “Bandit Queen,” she took up a life of burglary and ultimately became a gang leader after enduring sexual abuse from a young age.
11. Junko Tabei
A mountaineer, Tabei was the first woman to reach the top of Mount Everest in 1975 and, subsequently, was the first woman to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peaks of the seven continents!) in 1992.
Barry Jenkins: The scene is interesting to me because it’s like a turning point. These characters are essentially strangers to each other. And this scene is just after they’ve reconnected. Tarell Alvin McCraney’s original piece, “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” was kind of the starting point of this. Tarell wrote it as an undergrad at DePaul and passed it to me like a baton in a relay race.
He had this scene where Juan (Mahershala Ali) teaches Little (Alex Hibbert) some self-sustainability. Miami is surrounded by water. It’s always present. And I felt like there needed to be a moment of spiritual transference between these two characters. This idea of a swimming lesson seemed like the right place to do it.
this scene was amazing but even more incredible when I learned that Alex didn’t know how to swim before filming it. the level of trust needed to make this work was really beautiful
