Benjamin Todd Jealous is the former president and CEO of the NAACP. The youngest president in its history, he began his career at
age 18 opening mail at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Jealous has been a leader of successful state and local movements to ban the
death penalty, outlaw racial profiling, defend voting rights, secure marriage equality, and free multiple wrongfully incarcerated people.
A builder of robust coalitions, Jealous’ leadership at the NAACP included bringing environmentalist organizations into the fight to
protect voting rights, and convincing well-known conservatives to join the NAACP in challenging mass incarceration.
Drawing on the leadership tradition that connects Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglass,
Cesar Chavez, and Frances Willard, Jealous lays out the simple steps that can accelerate anyone toward achieving feats of great social
transformation and service.