Every movement has its “it” people. They have that small cadre of humans who inspire others to action, who carry the load more than the rest. Even the so-called leaderless movements, those that with much intention eschew the notion of figureheads, have them. And Vaun Mayes is one of those, a visible force for racial justice in our city. He leads the Community Task Force Milwaukee, a coalition of youth leaders, activists, faith-based organizations and political leaders seeking peace, unity and progress. Many will know him for the organizing he’s done since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but he found his footing as a community organizer long before that. In 2012, with a short prison term recently completed, Vaun happened upon a protest over the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Hundreds were marching on Milwaukee’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Vaun got out of his car, joined the protest and found a new purpose for his own life. He started Program the Parks to provide food and activities to de-escalate tension among youth in Sherman Park even before the 2016 unrest there. In so many ways, he seeks justice for Milwaukee’s Black residents but is especially interested in police reform. He knows what it means to fight the system. He was arrested in June ­after visiting a mural depicting him and others marching for racial justice. He was released the next day and the case, one of several involving the Milwaukee Police Department, is under scrutiny. Vaun says he’s been blackballed since federal charges were filed in 2018 accusing him of attempting to firebomb a police station during the Sherman Park uprising in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith. That case remains pending. “I believe that we deserve and that we are here to be in a world where we can live and be free and have liberty,” he says.