When George Zimmerman was acquitted I wrote a post on Facebook that we later called A Love Letter to Black People,' said Garza, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, while speaking at theLesbians Who Tech Summitin New York on Sept. 13. Garza: To be honest, there is glaring inequity of Black people overall in sectors and industries, and that has everything to do with the way that racism permeates every aspect of our society and economy. Were always trying to think about what voices arent being heard., WATCH: Activist Alicia Garza on politics, queer rights, and the future of America. Cullors shared this with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. [6][2] In September 2021, Garza announced that the two had ended their relationship after 17 years.[7]. Ms. Its what motivates me. Oct 17, 2022. Contents 1 Student radical 2 Black Woman VP 3 "People Get Ready" 4 Black Futures in Politics 5 This is Not a Drill 6 Leadership 2020 7 Black Lives Matter We have been treating Donald Trump as an exception to the rule, rather than as the rule itself. // Alicia Garza, a cofounder of the Black Lives Matter organization, came to Berkeley Thursday night "to rant for a minute" before settling into a somber talk about BLM today and the urgent need to fight threats ranging from fascism and extra-judicial racial terror to white supremacy. Today, thanks to the movement's foundersGarza . For another, insiders from the show . Every single day, we confront things that we believe . } [41][44] In the 2020 election, cofounder Cecile Richards says "[the group will be successful] if 54% of voters in this country are women and if we are able to insert into this country the issues that women care about and elect a president whos committed to doing something about them. [20] The movement and Garza are credited for popularizing the use of social media for mass mobilization in the United States; a practice called "mediated mobilization". People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO), People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER), "Lady Don't Take No: Soledad O'Brien - Many Talents, Few F*cks on Apple Podcasts", "The Bay Area Roots of Black Lives Matter", "People Organized to Win Employment Rights", "The Three Women Behind the Black Lives Matter Movement", "Meet the woman who coined #BlackLivesMatter", "#BlackLivesMatter: The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement", "The Rise and Resilience of Black Lives Matter", "Meet the Woman Behind #BlackLivesMatter the Hashtag that Became a Civil Rights Movement", "How Black Lives Matter Changed the Way Americans Fight for Freedom", "The Root 100 - The Most Influential African Americans In 2020", "A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement", "Black Futures Month: Alicia Garza & Economic Justice Across Gender", "Meet the Woman Behind #BlackLives Matter The Hashtag that Became a Civil Rights Movement", "2011 IRS form 990 for Right to the City Alliance", "Alicia Garza of #BlackLivesMatter Serves as Grand Marshal, Speaks at SF Pride Parade", "Alicia Garza Speaking at Bay Area Rising 2016", "BLM Co-Founder Delivers Ode To Black Women During Commencement Speech: 'We Are Magic', "Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza represents grad students with powerful speech", "Meet the BART-stopping Woman Behind "Black Lives Matter", "The New Political Group Supermajority Aims to Mobilize Women Across Race, Class, and Generation", "Black Lives Matter's Alicia Garza Wants Supermajority To Be Your New Home For Activism", "Cecile Richards Discusses Women's Political Action Group, Supermajority", "BLM's Alicia Garza Launches Census Project To Mobilize Black Political Power", "Queer Black Lives Matter Founders Put 'Terrorist' Trump Among 'Worst Fascists in History', "Black Lives Matter Co-Founder: Obama Overlooked Black Women", "The #BlackLivesMatter Movement Won't Support Hillary Clinton", "Today, Brittany Packnett officially and publicly endorsed Secretary Hillary Clinton for president", "Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza Speaks to Crowd of Hundreds on Movement, 2020 Election", "Black activist group gives its first presidential endorsement to Elizabeth Warren", "The POLITICO 50 - 2017 - Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi", "Alicia Garza Selected as Communities Choice for Grand Marshal", "Black Lives Matter founders to be awarded 2017 Sydney Peace Prize", "Alicia Garza | 2020 40 under 40 in Government and Politics", "Black Lives Matter Founders: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020", "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year? Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. , Alicia Garza 1 likes Like "I define power as the ability to make decisions that affect your own life and the lives of others, the freedom to shape and determine the story of who we are. Then came her call to action, alongside fellow activists Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. "I didn't start a movement. write of Black Lives Matters herstory.. Alicia Garza talks about this historic moment and what needs to happen next. Four-fifths of the country's most powerful people are white A new analysis by the New York Times found that of the more than 900 officials who head the likes of government, media, finance, and . . Marianne Schnall: Why did you decide to write this book The Purpose of Power? if (a[a9]) return; During a keynote speech at the 2016 Personal Democracy Forum on Wednesday Alicia Garza discussed the role black political power plays in revolutionizing democracy. Her editorial writing has been published by The Guardian, The Nation, Rolling Stone, and Truthout. Alicia Garza did not intend to start the Black Lives Matter movement when she posted on Facebook after George Zimmerman, a 34-year-old mixed race man, was acquitted for murdering Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black child, in Sanford Florida, in February 2012. Following graduation, Garza held various social-justice positions. } Given the tremendous power Garza and her team inspire, it was fascinating to hear her definition of power at the Lesbians Who Tech Summit: For me, power means getting to make decisions over your own life. Last years list was published just as millions joined the protests across the country, calls to defund the police gained mainstream attention, and companies faced increased pressure to address racial inequities. Last week Tory MP Alicia Kearns, chairman of . [20] In particular, the movement was born and Garza's post became popularized after protests emerged in Ferguson, Missouri, following the death of Michael Brown. I dont think any of this stuff is confusing. Once this protest ended, Garza started a new generation of civil rights leaders. The chancellor of the University, Chancellor Kohsla, said in a report by UC San Diego news, "Alicia Garzas determination to be a catalyst for change has deeply influenced our campus community, and we are honored to feature her as our Commencement keynote speakerHer commitment to health equity and rights for domestic workers as well as ending police violence, racism and violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people of color has made a significant impact on the lives of many in our nation and around the world[66]. As a result, the respective ballot initiative, Proposition F lost 37 percent to 63 percent.[8]. I think what were confused by is how we feel about it. She points to the past struggles for desegregation and interracial marriage. You have to believe that change can happen if you are going to be a part of making change. Alicia Garza is an organizer, writer and freedom dreamer. A.async = !0; That's a fact. All rights reserved, The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? I love you. document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(stylesheet); Garza advises that companies not make these calculations in a silo. init: function() { In 2013, Garza was a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, an activist movement focused on campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards African Americans. She serves as trusted counsel for organizations across the country looking to build their capacity to lead and win organizing campaigns. Alicia Garza started fighting for change at 12 years old. Garza's work has earned her various honors, including two Harvey Milk Democratic Club Community Activist Awards. Even though we're told different stories, we know the facts. Alicia Garza . When I'm in my right mind, what I say is, what a time to be alive. function q(c, r) { This election season, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza says President Trump is "stoking fires he has no intention of controlling" and inciting far-right extremists. When George Zimmerman was infamously acquitted in July 2013, in the murder case of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, activist Alicia Garza famously wrote on Facebook: "The sad part is, there's a section of America who is cheering and celebrating right now. She is a principal of this really cool organization called Black Futures Lab, which is a kind of think tank. Civic Leader. I think our opposition wants to frame this as: if Black lives matter, that means other people's lives don't. Garza has a tattoo emblazoned on her chest that reads: I am not wrong: Wrong is not my name My name is my own my own my own and I can't tell you who the hell set things up like this but I can tell you that from now on my resistance my simple and daily and nightly self-determination may very well cost you your life [8] There is a pressure to universalize, to make it not matter. All rights reserved. 54. Chances are that there are people in your company who are waiting for you to actmany of whom are being impacted by these very issues that you may be hesitant to address. The famed Black gay author Langston Hughes rose to prominence both for his literary work and also as a leader in the Harlem Renaissance in pre-World War II New York City . She has served as a board member of Forward Together's Oakland branch, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, and Oakland's School of Unity and Liberation/SOUL. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. So momentum can be built by unearthing all of the places where that existsand that will take us quite a long time because racism is everywhere, and has been since the beginning of this nation. Her activism connects emerging social movements, without diminishing the structural violence facing black people. (function () { You could have Black people concentrated in the administrative part of an organization or company and think that's enough because technically Black people are represented. if (window.csa) { googletag.pubads().setTargeting("author", [13803695]); 'The Nation, March 24, 2016, TED2019 may be past, but the TED community is busy as ever. Garza: It's really incredible to be alive during a time when we have the first ever woman, first Black person, and first South Asian person to be the Vice President-elect. She was also featured in the Politico50 guide to the thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2015. Power means being able to determine where resources go, who they go to, where they don't go, and who they don't go to. Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza is not one to mince words, and her June 20 interview with The Huffington Post is no exception. Whats next and what needs to happen? fake news. While shes been dedicated to the racial justice movement for years, her work has taken on a new level of prominence in the last 12 months, since she debuted at number 32 on last years Queer 50. Amid outrage, the three words became a rallying cry for thousands around the world protesting violence and systemic racism against black people. "https://":"http://";i+=f?g:k;i+=j;i+=h;c(i)}if(!e.ue_inline){if(a.loadUEFull){a.loadUEFull()}else{b()}}a.uels=c;e.ue=a})(window,document); And more broadly, I think it means that little girls like Vice President-elect Harris will be able to imagine themselves in positions of power. You may opt-out by. In 2008, she married Malachi and took the name Garza, settling in Oakland. Garza reflects on a lifetime of activism in this 2018 interview with our editor-in-chief. fetchBids: function() { Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, A journey of the senses through Abu Dhabi, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The first thing we do to achieve this is we invest in really understanding how racism functions, what it is and what it isn't. 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