Liberator in Action: Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines was known to millions through her social media presence as Ms. Shirley. A beacon of light for the forgotten people of Skid Row and the backstreets of Los Angeles, Ms. Shirley doted on the dispossessed, elevating them with nicknames like “King” or “Queen.” It was her personal mission to restore dignity to those who were shunned and dismissed.

Through “Beauty 2 The Streetz,” she turned her social media platform into an act of love, demonstrating what care looks like when it’s practiced daily with genuine love. 

Shirley spoke openly about being broken herself after losing her young son, showing us how brokenness does not disqualify us from purpose. “It’s important you know that broken people are still very much useful,” she said when she was named CNN Hero of the Year. That truth was the backbone of her life’s work. “I am a mother without a son,” she once explained, “and there are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother. And I feel like it’s a fair exchange—I’m here for them.” From that sacred exchange came years of tireless advocacy, presence, and care that changed lives.

Crushow Herring of the Sidewalk Project remembered how people would light up when Shirley arrived. “What most people need is just feeling dignity about themselves,” he said. “Because if they look better, they feel better.”

Shirley understood the change that dignity can bring. She invited people into responsibility, into work, and into community. Over time, many became part of the organization itself, gaining stability and belonging. Melissa Acedera of Polo’s Pantry recalled those early Saturdays of food distribution and how Shirley never forgot a birthday and never overlooked transgender and queer people. “It’s hard not to think of Shirley when I’m there,” she said. Her absence is already felt in the spaces she once filled with love.

Shirley passed away suddenly last month.  She was the recipient of many honors, including the NAACP Image Award, but her greatest honor lives on in the people who were fed, clothed, affirmed, and loved because she chose to recognize them as equals. Creator Alexis Nikole Nelson wrote, “Ms. Shirley was truly the best of us, love incarnate.”

To feel loved is the apex of liberation. Ms. Shirley understood this and lived by that creed. It’s why we bestow her with one final honor: Liberator in Action, for giving her life tirelessly to the mission of dispensing love to the unloved and forgotten.