Anthropology—and by extension, bioarchaeology—has long held the potential to engage meaningfully with the world’s most pressing social issues. From the early activism of some of the discipline’s founders to more recent engagements with intersectionality, Black feminist theory, decolonial thought, queer theory, and feminist theory, anthropologists occupy a unique position at the nexus of scholarship and social transformation. By embedding commitments to social justice, equity, and inclusivity within our research and practice, we can foster a discipline that is not only reflective but also responsive to contemporary global challenges. We define what academic activism can look like using a conceptual framework of scholar-activism rooted in three key components: criticality, normative orientation, and active engagement. Paired with a Theory of Change (ToC) approach, this framework enables scholars to anchor their work in a clear understanding of how systematic transformation can be enacted—from identifying root causes of inequity to implementing strategies that promote long-term structural change. The chapters of this volume are ordered into three sections: social justice within academia; structural violence, marginalization and systems of colonialism; and community bioarchaeology, stakeholders, and ethics. The chapters illustrate some of the different ways in which we can contribute to activism but are by no means exhaustive of the work that bioarchaeologists do in this area. Importantly, the chapters demonstrate how we can use our work to effect social change and offer practical steps for building this activist lens.