The Purpose Of Power

The Purpose Of Power

Adult nonfiction
"Seven years ago, I started the Black Lives Matter Global
Network with my sisters Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. BLM went
from being a hashtag to a series of pages on platforms like Facebook
and Twitter to a global network. The movement has generated the
highest number of protests since the last major period of civil
rights. When I started writing this book, that's what I thought it
would be about--the story of Black Lives Matter, its origin and most
profound lessons."
Although Alicia Garza's The Purpose Of Power: How We Come
Together When We Fall Apart would have been well worth reading as she
first envisioned it, I really like the way she started her narrative.
Just as Rosa Parks had put a lot of social rights activism in before
being seen by the public as a hard working, tired seamstress whose
refusal to move from her seat led to the bus boycott, Garza had put in
a lot of organizing labor before a phrase she used in a heartfelt
letter to the Black community following the acquittal of Trayvon
Martin's killer became a social justice rallying cry. She shares her
formative years from her childhood, much of it spent in a well off,
primarily white neighborhood, through her early experiences in
community organizing to the birth and nurturing of Black Lives
Matter. She candidly shares missteps as well as successes. And this
section is rich in historical, political, and cultural backstory.
However, the chapters I find the most meaningful are the last
eleven. Organizing for social justice has changed exponentially since
the 60s and the 70s. Understanding what these changes mean and how to
navigate this changed (or in some cases not changed enough) terrain
can be challenging and lead to serious misunderstandings. Garza
discusses these dilemmas including:
*What forms should effective leadership take? If you have a few
charasmatic (usually male) people running things, what you're creating
can fall apart too easily in their absence. But leaderlessness is
hardly a panacea and sometimes merely means that leadership is
covert. How can decentralized leadership be cultivated?
*What's the difference between a united front and a popular front?
*How do any of us get beyond a comfortable siloing with those who
agree with us on most things to work with a more diverse group in
order to reach the numbers required to leverage real change?
These questions and many more would make great conversation
starters. So I would reccommend the book to any group seriously
interested in facilitating social change.
Garza hopes that we won't just read this book and set it down.
We're all welcome in her Make America Great vision which is quite
different than the Trumpian one.
"...Making America great is ensuring that America remembers that
each of us is but a tiny speck on this planet who must learn how to
coexist in ways that allow others to live well too. Making America
great is making right all that has been done wrong in the name of
progress and profit. And at its core, making America great is
ensuring that everyone can have a great life."
Amen to that!
On a purrrsonal note, I just got back from my 2nd vaccine which went
just fine. I'm fully immunized with the paper to prove it. On the
way back my chauffeur and I stopped by Giffords for ice cream. I got
my first banana split of the spring. I have no idea what to expect in
the way of side effects. But I got my 2 weeks ahead on my homework
and made my partner a big pot of hamburger stew in case I have to take
it easy and lie around and read. (Jules)
I celebrated her vaccine with albacore tuna--the ultimate party food.
(Tobago).
A great big shout out goes out to chauffeur Ed and all the volunteers
and nurses at the Cross Center who are making mass innoculation run
smoothly and efficiently.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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