The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart is a phenomenal book for those who’ve found themselves caught in the pandemic mindset and the imaginary domicile where social justice and equality reside.
Written by Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, The Purpose of Power opens the door for us to travel through her life and evolution as a civil rights activist of a new order. She shares her insights about what it is to be an organizer and to develop the capacity to participate in a movement that is organic.
There is a leadership lexicon that comes to mind when you think about her movement and the overarching voices within. Garza tells the story of her personal development as a woman and as a leader in the fight that brings about a major transformation.
For daughters, mothers and grandmothers who have suffered from men, both Black and White, Garza does not give in to dependence. In fact, she shreds the notion of helplessness and the system of paternalism, providing a realistic and tangible model of hope.
That said, she redefines the constant rebellion that must exist in order for society to succumb to its norms.
Garza does not give anyone any room to imagine that their heroes, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama, get it right all the time. Instead, she questions many of their approaches that have slowed the movement and progression of the Black community.
She also questions and subsequently proves through her discussion that many individuals lobby for themselves without any regard for the negative impact that they have on the lives of Black and Brown people.
Hip-hop is removed from her lens and not up for discussion, as is any questionable behavior housed in that movement. The other male-versus-female conversations that need to be explained are absent from this body of work but are hopefully forthcoming.
All in all, it is a wonderful read from a perch that is authentically hers and hers alone — her experience, her family, her legacy and her fight.
If nothing else, this book will add color to your conversations going forward, should you choose to engage in her movement, which in essence is the Black community’s to own after all.
