From Ferguson protester to state legislator, Missouri State Representative Bruce Franks Jr. took his activism from the streets to the State House.

The shooting death of Missouri teen Mike Brown in 2014 catalyzed the activism of Bruce Franks Jr., but it was the killing of VonDeritt Myers two months later that kept Franks in the trenches. Myers was also killed by Ferguson police a few miles from Franks’ home. When no charges were brought up against the officer who shot Myers, Franks moved to act and met with the Circuit Attorney. He believes that real change can only be achieved if you not only criticize the system and hold it accountable, you must be able to work within it. It finds him at odds with some on both sides of the fight, but he refuses to blindly fall in line with, either. He will continue to march in the streets and act on behalf the people as a legislator for the 78th District and a teen mentor. This willingness to forge his own path to justice is what makes Bruce Franks Jr. an honoree in this year's “The Great 28.”