GW Deli Documentary
The Activists
Since its very beginning two centuries ago, the George Washington University has attracted generations of students to Washington, D.C., because of their desire to change the world. Through struggle and success, GW activists on campus and beyond continue to embody the never-ending commitment to creating a greater world.
”As students, now is the time for you to protest, to march, to have sit-ins, to write petitions, to raise your voice. To exercise your rights in this democratic society. And that we implore and encourage young people who are on the campus to share your values and be able to find your voice, raise your voice and then be able to speak truth to power.”
Roslyn Brock
GWSPH MS '89
Meet The Activists
Jeffrey S. Akman, MD ’81, RESD ‘85
Psychiatrist, Academic Physician, Executive, LGBTQIA+ and HIV Advocate
For nearly forty years, Jeffrey Akman has fought for social justice and pushed for health equity for people with HIV and for the LGBTQIA+ community, helping build the community response to HIV/AIDS in D.C. and serving as the President of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association and on President Obama’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. As GW’s vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine & Health Sciences for nearly a decade, Akman was the first openly gay vice president and dean in the university’s 200-year history.
Roslyn Brock, GWSPH MS ’89
Roslyn Brock is the Chairman Emeritus of the National Board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She has been affiliated with the NAACP for more than 35 years, and in 2010 she made history when she was unanimously elected chairman, becoming the youngest person and fourth woman to hold the position. Brock serves on The George Washington University’s Board of Trustees.
Nick Greer, BA ’69
Nick Greer was elected the first president of the GW Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society where he and fellow students protested against the Vietnam War and fought for civil rights. In 1969, Greer and 14 students were put on trial for the occupation of Maury Hall to protest the University’s complicity of the Vietnam war, but they were eventually fully exonerated. In 1973, he settled in Virginia and opened Greer’s Antiques Conservation, which restores antique furniture for some of America’s most storied institutions.
Peyton Wilson, Class of 2022
Peyton Wilson is a native of Marietta Georgia who started her activism work in high school surrounding racial injustices in her city. She carried the momentum from that work to Washington, D.C. Wilson now does local organizing and political education with mutual aid organizations across the District. During the 2020 academic year, she served as the Executive Vice President of GW’s Black Student Union. She will graduate in 2022 with a BA in Political Communication.
“Being at GW has definitely pushed me to think about things differently and think about the way I approach activism differently.”
Peyton Wilson
Class of 2022
