A month after her 2012 Whitney Biennial show, photographer LaToya Ruby Fraizer became the yearlong artist-in-residence at the Carnegie Library in Braddock, Pennsylviania. “I’m an artist but I feel like I’m being forced to be an activist,” she says. Her most famous collection, Notion of Family, archives her family history and the economic inequality of the Black community in Braddock.
Armed with a law degree, this conservation representative works with the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club to demand safe and healthy environment. Hill is known for rallying members and town hall meetings petitioning for clean water and air and renewable clean energy.
Standing on the shoulders of political greats like Shirley Chisholm and Condoleezza Rice, Cooper serves as press secretary to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. And while she admires her new boss, she’s most influenced by the women in her past. “I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by women who are committed to leaving the world a little bit better than they found it,” says the Chicago native.
