The moving story of one seminal activist's education in organizing, and an essential guide to building transformative movements for the challenges of the twenty-first century, from one of the country's leading activist voices and a founder of Black Lives Matter
Alicia Garza is an activist and writer best known as one of the three people who founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013. Garza has also organized around issues related to health, student services, and rights for domestic workers as well as violence against trans and gender nonconforming people of color. Garza describes herself as a queer social justice activist and Marxist. She is currently the special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), which strives to get better pay and working conditions for nannies and housekeepers. She also serves on the board of directors for the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD), both based in Oakland, California where Garza lives with her husband.
“In a year when a long overdue reckoning with racism is once again
in the spotlight, Garza’s call to action . . . is urgent and
critically necessary.”—Time
“The Purpose of Power is a must-read. Anyone interested in turning
the page of our contemptible past toward a brighter future should
put this book on their reading list.”—Congresswoman Barbara Lee
“‘Black lives matter’ was Alicia Garza’s love letter read around
the world. The Purpose of Power is another love letter that should
be read around the world. It speaks to all that molded Garza, all
that molds organizers, all that molds movements.”—Ibram X. Kendi,
author of #1 New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist
“I can think of no greater guide to the difficult work of building
movements than Alicia Garza and no greater tome of wisdom for this
age than The Purpose of Power, a precious offering to a nation
navigating unprecedented crises, for whom movements remain our only
saving grace.”—Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National
Domestic Workers Alliance and author of The Age of Dignity
“Damn. The Purpose of Power changes everything. I suppose I
shouldn’t be shocked at this book’s audacity, because it’s written
a young Black woman who literally changed everything. Very few
books become national monuments. Even fewer help shape social
movements. The Purpose of Power is that rare book that is a
monumental movement. It is a liberatory offering. Damn.”—Kiese
Laymon, author of Heavy
“The Purpose of Power cements Garza as a generational leader whose
unflinching yet generous wisdom will shape our approach to activism
for years to come.”—Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us
“The Purpose of Power is a necessary political history, an
expansive theory of liberation, and a personal testament to the
power of movement building. Garza helps guide us to greater
understanding and faith in our prospects for revolutionary
change.”—Mychal Denzel Smith, author of Stakes Is High
“The book reveals Garza as not only a superb strategist but a
master storyteller. This layered book is for anyone that
understands that surviving with dignity is a practice, but fighting
for both dignity and survival is a skill.”—Malkia Devich Cyril,
senior fellow and lead founder of Media Justice
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