Make Change: How to Fight Injustice, Dismantle Systemic Oppression, and Own Our Future Hardcover – August 4, 2020

Review of Make Change by Shaun King. I highly suggest it. It was readable, and so relatable for anyone who is an activist- both new and experienced. His ability to recount and explain his own missteps makes reflecting on your own easier. He provides real guidance and tips for building a movement. It left me feeling more grounded, centered, and refreshed…validated. Here are some of my take-aways:1. “We have confused our deep desire for the steady improvement of humanity with the actual steady improvement of technology over time.”YES!!! This was an A-HA moment for me. It is so important to not equate development of better and faster technology with the wellbeing of humanity. Evolution of technology IS NOT evolution of mankind. As the book details, in a thorough study and review of humanity, we function more in waves and dips. In case you can’t tell, we are in a SERIOUS DIP. 2. “Instagramification of American history”.Love this concept. There’s a lot to be reformed in how we teach history. 3. The system isn’t broken, it’s by design.“I often hear people say that America’s criminal justice system is “broken”, and I understand that thought. Something clearly is wrong, and “broken” seems to e as good a word as any. But to say that the justice system in the Unites States is broken is to suggest that the explosion of mass incarceration from the Nixon administration onward was some type of grand accident – that the system was well designed but, for some strange reason, as deviated from its original intent. And that’s just not the ae. This system was built deliberately with nefarious goals in mind. It was intended not only to protect white people and privilege, but to disrupt and punish Black communities in the worst ways imaginable. That system isn’t broken, no. It’s firing on all cylinders.”4. It’s not only OK, it’s necessary to specialize in your cause. This was a really, really important thing for me to hear and consider. It’s so easy to become paralyzed by the amount of work in front of us. “…reflect back over your life and consider the causes and problems in the work that you have been consistently frustrated and concerned about. I am asking you to decide to make that problem into your problem. As much as you would care about a water pipe that burst above your bedroom. I want you to determine within yourself that you are going to tilt your whole life to solving this particular problem in the world. Because what I have learned is that complex systemic problems get solved only by people who make hardcore decisions to solve them. Period. Full stop. … when you make an issue your specialty, your obsession, and the primary recipient of your creative energy, you are more likely to actually have an impact on it. ‘“You will always feel, as you fight one battle, that you are missing out on another. I feel this way every day.”Me too! 5. Posting on FaceBook, or anywhere else, is NOT a vehicle for systemic change. REPEAT. Social media platforms are tools for awareness, but posting about something is not in and of itself enough. I’m going to challenge myself to always include and do an action with every cause or situation I post about it. 6. This is a tough one, but the truth as I’ve seen it.“…we must be careful not to confuse our most energized moments with change itself…The changes and outraged op-eds and marching feet of the people can often feel like change, but those actions are just a start…The truth is that the energy and attention sparked by tragedy are fleeting.” Yes, all of this. It speaks to why it is hard to sustain the momentum of the movement. It is hard to march, but imminently easier that the work of ongoing organizing. Movements can fizzle into moments so easily.A wise woman I know, Diane Chang, recently coined the term “reactive appeasement”. A tragedy happens, we jump but do not always take the time to think through what will create lasting change. We feel like we’ve done something, with our emergency meeting or march or training on microaggressions, but have we moved the needle systemically with the system we are attempting to reform? These acts make us feel like we are doing something, but I’m coming to the age where I’m measuring success in terms of actual system change.“Too often, we are highly energized but very loosely organized. Nothing kills the energy of a movement more than poor organization, and nothing sustains and grows a movement from the energy state to the action state more than being deeply and strategically organized… Being aware of a problem and highly energized to change is not enough.” 7. Networking is everything. Networking is everything. Once again, for the people in the back, networking is everything. 8. Another A-ha moment for me, and one that speaks to some shame I carry for not doing more. I spent my 20s actively organizing and doing human rights work in the US and Latin America (Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba). I lived in the streets, figuratively. Now, I feel so busy with all the work I’m doing, I’m not finding myself on the front lines. As it turns out, this may be an okay and needed natural progression, one I had not considered before.“We cannot continue to count on the same people to run from crisis to crisis and also create plans that will have resounding effects. It hasn’t worked historically, and it will not work going forward. As a result, some of us are going to have to break away from the front lines so what we can build teams to craft plans that will change this world… if we’re going to develop new policies and plans and strategies to solve the problems we care about, we can’t do that while remaining in the role of first responder.” 9. This is hard work. You are going to have losses more than wins. Change does not often feel grandiose. Don’t be discouraged. If it were easy, it wouldn’t need a movement, right? Self-care, it’s a must. Oxygen mask for self first, and then help others. 10. The importance of self-care, and building intentional supportive communities. “My sincere wish for you is that you have friends who root for you and who believe in your ability to make impact in this world, friends who’ll come along with you and help support and build out your vision for a more just society. Once you find those people, hold them close.”

I recently started following Shaun King’s work as an activist in the wake of the most recent resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests. I pre-ordered his book (both hard-cover and audio - Shaun’s voice-narration is masterful) fully expecting to get a crash course in how to solve police brutality.... This book is so much more than that.I was stunned and surprised by the call-to-action, not just for activists interested in civil rights, but to ALL persons of any age, gender, and orientation that are interested in solving ANY of the world’s problems in this day and age. It is a playbook for any person in any walk of life interested in learning how to comprehensively make actual change right now in your community. King lays out steps from how to organize, to how to utilize your skill set, to how to stay engaged in a cause for the long haul.I picked up this book from a place of humility, as it is very easy to feel overwhelmed by the problems plaguing our world today and our own lack of qualifications to solve them. Shaun helps assuage any fears or insecurities by addressing them head on and encouraging the reader to start exactly where you are at and to believe in yourself and in your capacity to make a difference... and I do.“Make Change” is a must-read and vital resource for any prospective activist starting from square one, and that’s a perfect place to start. Wonderful and inspiring and life-changing.

Shaun writes intimately and authentically through personal stories, provides insight and info about the cycles of racism in our country and what’s necessary for, well, making real change, and gives validation for the impact and value of each individual who wants to make the world better in some way. Pastors or nonprofit leaders will benefit from the chapters on organizing volunteers and strategic planning, but for those of us who care about racial justice, this is a must-read, not just for the nitty gritty details of the work ahead, but for the glimpses of hope seen in Shaun’s stories of real change from sustained, organized action.“Our world has so many pressing needs that any single person is ill-equipped to fight all of them. But... you cannot allow yourself to be so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of problems in our world that the stress of it all causes you to be noncommittal about helping solve any of them.”“We have greatly overestimated the practical value of being *good* and being *right* when it comes to making change. Being on the right side of history is not good enough. Having the moral high ground is not good enough. Having integrity is not good enough. Don’t misunderstand me: we should have all of those things. But ... we can be right and good and moral, and still *lose*... because goodness alone will not create systemic change.”Let’s make systemic change. Read this book.

an essential book in both understanding the issues facing the world today and in learning how each of us can help.

Strongly recommend this book particularly given the current issues that the USA faces. The issue can no longer be ignored. This book offers some solutions. A refreshing read.

Found a charity, because this is a handbook for building a lobby. If you have an interest, even if it is simply to grant yourself a life. Americana reflected in this work lives on a bubble. In a wholly transactional and utilitarian state you have to compete to be heard and nobody likes a double dipper.

Excellent customer service. Product exactly as described.

Great book to understand one's impact and ability to changing the norm as well as highlighting injustices. This could be applied to different spectrums of life even though it is predominantly American.