Tuckahoe NY Pride

Alicia Garza is a queer Black activist, writer, and organizer best known as a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. After Trayvon Martin’s killing, her online message helped spark a global call to confront anti-Black racism and state violence. Garza has long worked on grassroots power-building, centering Black communities, LGBTQ+ people, and working families. She founded Black Futures Lab to advance Black political engagement and create community-driven policy agendas. Garza is also the author of The Purpose of Power: How we Come Together When We Fall Apart, reflecting on movement strategy, coalition building, and sustained civic participation. She advocates for intersectional justice, voting access, and accountable institutions.

From The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart
“I learned that racism, like most systems of oppression, isn’t about bad people doing terrible things to people who are different from them but instead is a way of maintaining power for certain groups at the expense of others.”

Photo credit Kristin Little Photography