Praise for The Purpose of Power “The Purpose of Power is a must-read for those who want a better understanding of the current state of Black America. This book highlights the work necessary not only to transform the conscience of our nation but also to disrupt the policies that contribute to systemic racism so we can successfully build a country where Black lives matter. Alicia Garza has created a guidebook for building coalitions to bring about transformational change. By combining activism with electoral politics, she is reflecting the influence of the strength and brilliance of her late mother, who I know is smiling down from on high with pride and love. As we face challenging times in our nation, 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 “Alicia Garza has articulated the aspiration of generations of Black people to be valued, protected, respected, and free. This beautiful, important, and timely memoir is insightful, compelling, and necessary in this critical moment of reckoning with our history.” —BRYAN STEVENSON, author of Just Mercy “ ‘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. It is story. It is lesson. It is power.” —IBRAM X. KENDI, author of How to Be an Antiracist “Damn. The Purpose of Power changes everything. I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked at this book’s audacity, because it’s written by a young Black woman who literally changed everything. But the art of building a movement and the art of building a textured book to chronicle and guide future movements are wholly different endeavors. Somehow—and I think the how is in the way the sentences and chapters put pressure on yesterday and tomorrow— Alicia Garza has written a book that is more dynamic, daring, and rigorous than the most expansive movement of my lifetime, a movement she helped create and sustain. 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 “Alicia Garza is an originator, the driving force behind one of the most powerful, motivating, and game-changing symbols we have ever seen in the realm of social change—the proud and defiant symbol of Black Lives Matter. It should be no surprise that the person behind this strategy has a lifetime of experience, insight, inspiration, and learning behind her. I have always benefited from Garza’s insight. Now The Purpose of Power lets everyone in: How MTV shaped her understanding of the power of culture to win where politics can’t do it alone. How Black power starts with Black community. How the difference between feeling powerful and being powerful is the difference between seeing our potential and realizing it—the difference between dreaming of freedom and winning freedom. Garza offers a practical guide to one of the most impractical fights of our time: making racial justice a reality.” —RASHAD ROBINSON, president of Color of Change “In this magnificent and engaging text, Alicia Garza deftly combines revealing personal memoir, thorough social history, astute political theory, and pragmatic strategic advice. Through this exquisite narrative, Garza shows why she is a singular figure of her generation —a generation about which everyone was convinced, she writes, ‘that there was something inherently wrong with us.’ Combining personal and national history, Garza reveals all that is right about a generation forged in the fire of the Clinton-era carceral state and coming of age in the era of Obama-enforced respectability. Refusing to romanticize any moment or movement, Garza explains both the why and the how of meaningful, impactful organizing for and with black communities. Never cruel but unflinchingly honest, Garza analyzes the external and internal opponents that have marked Black people’s long struggle for justice in this country. She teaches clearly, corrects lovingly, demands boldly, and proceeds fearlessly to fight for the lives of all Black people. This is a text everyone needs to read, to discuss, to debate, to challenge, and to absorb. Alicia Garza is our Ella Baker.” —MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY, Maya Angelou Presidential Chair and professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University “In the difficult work of building movements, one of our most important resources is leadership, the people who hold the lanterns, light the path, and serve as our guides through the darkness. I can think of no greater guide 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 “Like the movement she launched into the world, Alicia Garza’s book will pull you in, break your heart, and make it bigger all at once. 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 “With The Purpose of Power, Alicia Garza has provided us simultaneously with a necessary political history, an expansive theory of liberation, and a personal testament to the power of movement building. If we are serious about the work of dismantling all the systems of oppression that have caused pain and suffering for generations, we would do well to listen as Garza helps guide us to greater understanding and faith in our prospects for revolutionary change.” —MYCHAL DENZEL SMITH, author of Stakes Is High “Moving a jaded populace from ‘spectators to strategists’ is not for the faint of heart, but Alicia Garza knows how to do it. With eloquence, intimacy, and electric clarity, Black Lives Matter co- founder Garza has delivered a dynamic story of how a multiracial, Black-led movement for rights and dignity came of age. Accessible and hands on, The Purpose of Power is part generous autobiography, part manual for building multiracial coalitions and political majorities strong enough to overcome anti-Black racism in the modern era. The book reveals Garza as not only a superb strategist but a master storyteller, breaking down complex narratives of displacement, police violence, and worker disenfranchisement to serve up the incredible blend of movement building know-how and community organizing how-to that today’s generation of activists desperately needs. “Make no mistake, Garza’s words are no ride-along. Every page resuscitates the reader, dashes our myths about how change happens, and invites us into the simple but powerful truth that at the end of the day, the future will be built by people. From the streets to the battlefields of popular culture, news, and the Internet, The Purpose of Power delivers wisdom for the seasoned organizer and an incredible story for the impassioned newbie. This layered book is for anyone who understands that surviving with dignity is a practice, but fighting for both dignity and survival is a skill. From end to end, Garza honors the political moment, the new and diverse leadership, all the while reminding us of this simple truth: Hashtags don’t build movements, people do.” —MALKIA DEVICH CYRIL, senior fellow and founding director of Media Justice “Alicia Garza is a leader for our times, a deeply erudite strategist and thinker who leads heart first. In this book, she puts us back together again, reminding us that when things fall apart, as they inevitably do, it is we who hold the puzzle pieces, and coming together, we can begin again.” —BRITTNEY COOPER, professor at Rutgers University and author of Eloquent Rage The Purpose of Power is a work of nonfiction. Some names and identifying details have been changed. Copyright © 2020 by Alicia Garza All rights reserved. Published in the United States by One World, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. ONE WORLD and colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Names: Garza, Alicia, author. Title: The purpose of power : how we come together when we fall apart / Alicia Garza. Description: New York : One World, 2020. Identifiers: LCCN 2020023583 (print) | LCCN 2020023584 (ebook) | ISBN 9780525509684 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780525509691 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Social movements. | Political participation. Classification: LCC HM881 .G37 2020 (print) | LCC HM881 (ebook) DDC 303.48/4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2020023583 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2020023584 Ebook ISBN 9780525509691 oneworldlit.com Illustration by iStock / OlgaLebedeva Cover design: Michael Morris Cover photograph: Rachel Eliza Griffiths ep_prh_5.6.0_c0_r0 Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Introduction Part I: A Short History of How We Got Here Chapter One: Where I’m From Chapter Two: My Generation Part II: A New Generation Emerges Chapter Three: First Lessons Chapter Four: The First Fight Chapter Five: Unite to Fight Chapter Six: Trayvon, Obama, and the Birth of Black Lives Matter Chapter Seven: Rebellion and Resistance Part III: Notes on the Next Movement Chapter Eight: The Meaning of Movement Chapter Nine: Unity and Solidarity Chapter Ten: New Movements, New Leadership Chapter Eleven: Voting Can Be a Movement Chapter Twelve: The Power of Identity Politics Chapter Thirteen: Impostor Syndrome and the Patriarchy Chapter Fourteen: No Base, No Movement Chapter Fifteen: Political Education and Common Sense Chapter Sixteen: United Fronts and Popular Fronts Chapter Seventeen: Platforms, Pedestals, and Profiles Chapter Eighteen: In the End: Power Epilogue: Take Care of Yourself Dedication Acknowledgments About the Author INTRODUCTION S EVEN YEARS AGO, I STARTED the Black Lives Matter Global Network with my sisters Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.