The Purpose of Power: From the co-founder of Black Lives Matter

Description

In a powerful exploration of recent racial history, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter examines the moment we're in, how we got here, and how together we can build movements to create a just and equal world. Black Lives Matter began as a hashtag when Alicia Garza wrote what she calls 'a love letter to Black people' on Facebook. But hashtags don't build movements, she tells us. People do. Interwoven with Garza's experience of life as a Black woman, The Purpose of Power is the story of how she responded to the persistent message that Black lives are of less value than white lives by galvanizing people to create change. It's an insight into grass roots organizing to deliver basic needs - affordable housing, workplace protections, access to good education - to those locked out of the economy by racism. It is an attempt not only to make sense of where Black Lives Matter came from but also to understand the possibilities that Black Lives Matter and movements like it hold for our collective futures. Ultimately, it's an appeal to hearts and minds, demanding that we think about our privileges and prejudices and ask how we might contribute to the change we want to see in the world.

Alicia Garza is an innovator, strategist and organizer. She is the Principal at the Black Futures Lab, co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the US National Domestic Workers Association, co-founder of Supermajority and host of the podcast Lady Don't Take No.

"Black lives matter" - Alicia Garza's love letter read around the world. The Purpose of Power is another love letter that should be read around the world. * IBRAM X. KENDI, bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist * In a year where a long overdue reckoning with racism is once again in the spotlight, Garza's call to action to create a sustainable movement bigger than hashtags and social media followings is urgent and critically necessary * TIME * Lessons from a 20-year career spent organizing for change. * INDEPENDENT, A Book of 2020 * Read it for a fresh dose of inspiration for activism and justice. * GLAMOUR * Incisive, uplifting, and exactly what the world needs right now... A must-read book. * STYLIST *