Monica Raye Simpson is executive director of SisterSong: the national Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Simpson is a queer Black North Carolina native, and has organized extensively against human rights abuse, the prison industry, racism, and systemic violence against Southern Black women and LBGTQ people. A singer and spoken word artist who infuses art into her activism, Simpson created Artists United for Reproductive Justice as a project of SisterSong, a platform for artists to collaborate on replicable artwork that furthers the reproductive justice movement. The Open Society Justice Rising Awards are an investment in Black leaders working towards racial justice and equality in the United States. The 16 awardees from across the country are being recognized for their long-term contributions to advancing change in their communities, tireless commitment to civil rights, and capacity to inspire, innovate, and mobilize people despite considerable odds. The Open Society Justice Rising Awards are part of a larger investment in racial justice by the Open Society Foundations. Learn more about the awards at https://www.OpenSocietyJusticeRising.org/. Learn more about the Open Society Foundations at https://www.OpenSocietyFoundations.org/