Young organizer at the Black Lives Matter rally in Anchorage

Activism driven by resistance to colonial and racial oppression has helped to shape Alaska. Black Alaskans have taken to the streets, but also to city and town halls, the State Capitol, corporate boardrooms, and courtrooms to assert their rights and call out injustice, similar to efforts elsewhere in the US. Alaska’s Black activists protested housing and employment discrimination and advocated for greater accountability in law enforcement, at times forging alliances with Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, and white allies.  

Black Civil Rights in Alaska built on the momentum of ongoing Alaska Native activism and advocacy. In 1945, Alaska Native peoples successfully promoted the passage of the Equal Rights Act, an early measure by the territory to limit race-based discrimination in public places. In the 1960s, as the Civil Rights movement was gaining steam throughout the US, Alaska’s communities of color fought and won significant victories.