In three sentences
1. Cultivate deep and humanising relationships
2. Learn from Octavia Butler, nature, and the environment (water, beetles, trees, and more)
3. “What we put our attention on grows” (134).
2. Learn from Octavia Butler, nature, and the environment (water, beetles, trees, and more)
3. “What we put our attention on grows” (134).
Impressions
Quite an energising book that is both theoretical and practical. If “the role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible,” as Toni Cade Bambara says, the author makes co-struggling a necessity.
Audience
Facilitators and activists in social movements. The author does not bore readers and does not use complicated words.
How the text changed me
The book motivates me to be attentive to nature and relationship building. brown does not indulge in feel-good fluffy relativism where everything labelled "community" work leads us to liberation. She is generous and speaks from her heart, while being specific about what effective liberatory work could look like.
Top three quotes
"We work well when we have people we are accountable to, people with whom we can be in interdependent relationships" (103).
"I’ve learned to look for the simple, basic human that is at the core of every big vision and complex idea or system" (222).
"Real time is slower than social-media time, where everything feels urgent. Real time often includes periods of silence, reflection, growth, space, self-forgiveness, processing with loved ones, rest, and responsibility" (151).
Summary + notes
Organizing is a practice of collective liberation rather than individual rights. Brown emphasizes this through the example of Harriet Tubman, who "went back to free others because it wasn’t enough to free only herself" (198). True freedom is not achieved in isolation but through shared struggle. Removing a harmful individual does not solves systemic issues because "destroying a person doesn’t destroy all of the systems that allow harmful people to do harm" (148). However, accountability remains crucial, as Brown points out that those who perpetuate harm and refuse to engage in transformative processes may be avoiding the responsibility that could reshape their lives and relationships (143).
Effective organizing requires self-awareness, adaptability, and visionary thinking. Brown encourages activists to seek honest feedback, asking, "What is my impact in the world?" and "Where do you think I could grow?" (185). Practical strategies, such as creating a shared visual timeline with post-its for tasks, events, and milestones, ensure that movements can easily adapt as circumstances evolve (244). Organizing is also a form of futurism—"all organizing is science fiction," as it imagines and builds new possibilities (199). The Detroit Narrative Agency exemplifies this by reshaping dominant narratives, proving that "the future of a place follows the stories we tell about that place" (243). Just as parents learn through experience, activists must engage in the process, embracing uncertainty and growth (123). Organizing, like meditation, requires intentional focus—training our attention to create a better future (201).
Reference:
Brown, Adrienne Maree. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, 2017.
I have adapted the questions I used to think about the text from Ali Abdaal.
