Rodney Norman Powell (born 1935). is a former civil rights leader in the Nashville Student Movement and an activist for LGBTQ rights. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Raymond and Norma Powell. Powell began advocating for African-American civil rights in the 1960s in accordance with Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent teachings. Later in his life he began actively working for LGBTQ rights in the 2000s, continuing to draw inspiration from King's nonviolence philosophy. He attended Meharry Medical College in 1957 seeking out a "more authentic black experience" in comparison to his undergraduate school, St. Joseph's. Powell married Gloria Johnson and they had three children together. Later they divorced in 1975 and Powell relocated to Hawaii. He received a position at John A. Bur