Black History Month: Johnetta Elzie

Black History Month: Johnetta Elzie

Duane Wicker, Staff Writer

Johnetta “Netta” Elzie, 26, is a passionate American civil rights activist. Elzie is one of the leaders of the “We The Protesters”, is a co-editor of the Ferguson Protest Newsletter, and has organized protest for civil rights in Ferguson.  She was awarded the 2015 “Howard Zinn Freedom to Write” award for her work with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Elzie grew up in North County St. Louis and studied journalism in college. She was even arrested during protests in downtown St. Louis on the steps of a federal courthouse. She has met with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and sat down with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss Campaign Zero—the ten-point solution to end police violence that Elzie helped develop.