Who Are Your Heroes/Local Icons?

For the sake of avoiding duplicate responses, let's assume that Malcolm, Martin, and Harriet are universally appreciated.

Name the people who have had a strong influence on the way you view the world. Throw out some local icons too. I didn't know who Petey Greene was until that Don Cheadle movie came out a few years ago. Let's hear about local people that no one else knows about.

Me:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Swiss philosopher who was the first to effectively analyze social and economic inequality in the modern world.

Jean Paul Sartre

A powerful intellectual voice for freedom, viewing it as an inescapable aspect of human existence. "You are condemned to freedom."

Harvey Milk

A very important figure in California history, a reason why our state now embraces progressive values.

Karl Marx

Too ambitious in his attempt to explain "laws" of history and economics but remains the best critic of capitalism and its exploitative violence.

Biddy Mason

Pioneer in Los Angeles history who gained her freedom from Mormon slaveholders by petitioning a local court for her freedom. She was granted her request and went on to become a wealthy landowner and philanthropist in L.A.

 

Interesting thread.

BUMP