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Ferguson Activists Honored in Fortune 's Greatest Leaders List

It has been seven months since Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police, in turn launching a new movement for civil rights. Two of the most influential young leaders who emerged in fighting for the cause were Johnetta Elzie and DeRay McKesson, who are on Fortune magazine's "50 Greatest Leaders" this month.

It has been seven months since Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police, in turn launching a new movement for civil rights. Two of the most influential young leaders who emerged in fighting for the cause were Johnetta Elzie and DeRay McKesson, who are on Fortune magazine's "50 Greatest Leaders" this month.

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Elzie and McKesson met when they were at a medic training for protests, according to the article. In the weeks following, they launched This Is the Movement, a newsletter updating subscribers on the latest social justice issues.
"The power in protest is disruption, it is confrontation and it is also community building. That's the space we're in at least in [St. Louis and Ferguson]. How do we create groups of people who have a shared vision of what success might look like and then they can target their energy to enact change," McKesson told BET.com.
Some of the other leaders honored on the list include Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and NBA all-star LeBron James.
Follow Natelege Whaley on Twitter: @Natelege_

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(Photos from left: Courtesy of Johnetta Elzie, Courtesy of DeRay McKesson)

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