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melannrosenthal 's review for:
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart
by Alicia Garza
Black Lives Matter.
If you've read and liked Stacey Abrams' [b:Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America|50353732|Our Time Is Now Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America|Stacey Abrams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604940616l/50353732._SY75_.jpg|75299432], or have Abrams' book on your list–be sure to add this one too. Written by one of the co-founders of the BLM movement, Garza is not only a stellar writer and thinker, but, much like Abrams, has important experiences and advice to share as we look to the future of organizing in this country, and aspire to establish race and class equity.
Here are two quotes that struck me, and will hopefully encourage you to give this book a read:
On the acquittal of George Zimmerman—"I woke up in the middle of the night and cried. I cried for Trayvon's mother and all the other mothers who lost their children. I cried for the fear that something like this could happen to someone I loved, to my brother, or my uncles, but more than that, I cried for us, all of us. I cried for who we are, who America is, that we could let a child be murdered by an adult and let that adult get away with it, that we would make laws that justified being fearful of Black people, laws that allowed you to kill Black people, and not face any consequences. I cried, because this man, this obviously not white man, killed a Black child who was visiting his dad, this Black child who went to the store to get candy, who never made it home that night because this man's fear, of a Black child, was greater than his reason. I cried because he got away with it. Not guilty."
On why, as Audre Lorde has said, self-care is "political warfare" and key to the work Garza does— "Often, we can link our trauma and grief to the trauma and grief of others, finding common cause in our misery, working together to make sure we can build a world as free as possible of the pain we all endure. Many of those who are drawn to social change work, are attracted to it because at times they find human connection in and through trauma. Trauma and grief and the endurance of them can be what connects us, yet it is never enough to organize because you are angry, because you are grieving. Trauma bonding is corrosive to the practice of building power. The question facing us is this: What can we do to remain resilient in the face of crisis and chaos? How do we keep coming back to that which moves us, that which grounds us, when seemingly everything is falling apart around us, among us, and inside us?"
If you've read and liked Stacey Abrams' [b:Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America|50353732|Our Time Is Now Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America|Stacey Abrams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604940616l/50353732._SY75_.jpg|75299432], or have Abrams' book on your list–be sure to add this one too. Written by one of the co-founders of the BLM movement, Garza is not only a stellar writer and thinker, but, much like Abrams, has important experiences and advice to share as we look to the future of organizing in this country, and aspire to establish race and class equity.
Here are two quotes that struck me, and will hopefully encourage you to give this book a read:
On the acquittal of George Zimmerman—"I woke up in the middle of the night and cried. I cried for Trayvon's mother and all the other mothers who lost their children. I cried for the fear that something like this could happen to someone I loved, to my brother, or my uncles, but more than that, I cried for us, all of us. I cried for who we are, who America is, that we could let a child be murdered by an adult and let that adult get away with it, that we would make laws that justified being fearful of Black people, laws that allowed you to kill Black people, and not face any consequences. I cried, because this man, this obviously not white man, killed a Black child who was visiting his dad, this Black child who went to the store to get candy, who never made it home that night because this man's fear, of a Black child, was greater than his reason. I cried because he got away with it. Not guilty."
On why, as Audre Lorde has said, self-care is "political warfare" and key to the work Garza does— "Often, we can link our trauma and grief to the trauma and grief of others, finding common cause in our misery, working together to make sure we can build a world as free as possible of the pain we all endure. Many of those who are drawn to social change work, are attracted to it because at times they find human connection in and through trauma. Trauma and grief and the endurance of them can be what connects us, yet it is never enough to organize because you are angry, because you are grieving. Trauma bonding is corrosive to the practice of building power. The question facing us is this: What can we do to remain resilient in the face of crisis and chaos? How do we keep coming back to that which moves us, that which grounds us, when seemingly everything is falling apart around us, among us, and inside us?"