Alicia Garza

This is a really wonderful book. Garza masterfully blends her story of becoming the powerful organizer she is today with analysis of what it takes to make change. I especially appreciated her refutation of the reductionist critique of identity politics, which ironically has its origins in pushing against the narrow frame of whiteness to assert an explicit recognition of other, non-white experiences. (Here's another good essay on that: rel="nofollow" target="_top">https://belonging.berkeley.edu/identity-politics-friend-or-foe).… (mere)

Alicia Garza is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network but she worked as a community organizer for a long time before that. The Purpose of Power is multi-faceted – it’s both her personal story and the story behind #BlackLivesMatter. It’s also about community organizing in general and how to go beyond hashtags to make real and lasting change.

I learned a lot from this book. It starts with a brief history of movements and leadership within the Black community to give context to where things stand with it today. Then she weaves in her personal story, including her work as a community organizer. I first heard the term “community organizer” when Barack Obama ran for president but I didn’t know what it really meant. Garza has a wealth of experience that she details in this book and I feel like I understand what a community organizer does a lot better now.

The last section of the book is about the Black Lives Matter movement – how it started and where it is today. I appreciated this information because I didn’t know the specifics before reading this book. Now, I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge that I can use to educate others. There is a lot of misinformation about Black Lives Matter out there and I’m glad I feel like I can speak out now.

The focus of The Purpose of Power is the Black Lives Matter movement but what Garza shares about organizing can be applied to any movement. If you’ve ever felt like you wanted to do something beyond posting a hashtag, this is a great book for you.… (mere)