--- description: Find out how Quentin Bell is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2022 TIME100 Next: Quentin Bell image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb382145225536819/698a35cfdb29873e7e268388/time100-next-quentin-bell.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 28, 2022 # Quentin Bell by [Madeleine Carlisle](/author/madeleine-carlisle/) ## Madeleine Carlisle Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Jake Crandall—The Montgomery Advertiser/AP Jake Crandall—The Montgomery Advertiser/APJake Crandall—The Montgomery Advertiser/AP Quentin Bell believes that America is in the midst of the “second leg” of the civil rights movement—one that extends to a fight for [Black trans rights](https://time.com/5880964/imara-jones-black-trans-women/ "undefined"). Bell and his wife Jennine founded [The Knights and Orchids Society](https://tkosociety.com/ "undefined") (TKO), a Black trans- and queer-led organization that provides clients with services including routine STI ­wellness checks and access to a general practitioner. TKO is not a lobbying group. But as a host of [anti-trans bills emerged](https://time.com/6167472/alabama-anti-lgbtq-legislation/ "undefined") in the Alabama state legislature over the past three years, Bell’s work to fight back has become like a second full-time job. In the spring, Bell, who is trans, [testified](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/21/alabama-trans-healthcare-bill-activists/ "undefined") against a bill restricting access to gender-­affirming care for minors and argued it could have dangerous repercussions. He led coalition calls against the bill, pointing out that major medical organizations opposed it. In April, when the bill became law, he began educating Alabamans on how it could affect them. Based in Selma, with its [long civil rights history](https://time.com/3636426/selmas-movie-mlk-articles/ "undefined"), Bell says he’s hopeful about the young activists in this fight. “I want to make sure the next generation of trans leaders do not have to start from zero,” he says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/"},"headline":"Quentin Bell","datePublished":"2022-09-28T09:54:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:06:11.770Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb382145225536819/698a35cfdb29873e7e268388/time100-next-quentin-bell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeleine Carlisle","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/"}],"creator":"Madeleine Carlisle","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb382145225536819/698a35cfdb29873e7e268388/time100-next-quentin-bell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/","name":"Quentin Bell"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 Next: See Every Honoree","description":"See every 2022 TIME100 Next honoree in under two minutes.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i4LJ3fau/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-09-28T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i4LJ3fau.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213819/quentin-bell/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```