The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart

In Chapter 2, Garza explores the Black revolutionary movements of the past, explains how they have disintegrated in the present, and situates her own childhood within this narrative. As a child of the 1980s and 1990s, Garza felt she had been born too late to participate in the social movements of the previous generations. Instead, her era was characterized by economic decline and social backlash. On one side, the stagnating economy devastated Black communities and widened income disparities. On the other, the achievements of the 1960s and 1970s social movements were either revoked or unenforced. Despite these desolate conditions, Garza emphasizes it is precisely during moments of crisis that the “seeds of the next revolution” are sown (26). In other words, movements “grow” from prolonged planning for radical social transformation.

The rest of the chapter explores how the right-wing movements of the 1970s and 1980s subdued the radical progressive reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. Garza sees right-wing conservatism as an ideology reinforcing the idea that inequality is the natural result of a competition-based society. In this ideology, competition is not only necessary but also desirable, and any ensuing inequality is justified because it reflects the natural order ordained by God or “some form of social Darwinism” (27).

Although these labels of “right” and “left” are useful in theory, Garza warns that average Americans do not think of themselves in these terms. Furthermore, the concept of the “right” and “left” correspond imperfectly to the concepts of the “Republican” or “Democrat.” For example, whereas Republicans were socially progressive in the Civil War and Black Reconstruction eras, they are now the opposite.

Garza points out that although the current state of American politics is extremely conservative, this has not always been the case. The post-World War II era welcomed progressivism: This is proven by the popularity of the New Deal and its welfare programs. However, beneath the surface, the conservative movement was organizing to reclaim their prominence: The new right and the neoconservatives set aside their differences and formed a coalition to consolidate power. Their fear of communism and their disdain of liberals were the glue that solidified their alliance. They forged ties with the religious (Christian) right and politicized constituencies that had previously abstained from political matters. These forces coalesced and reshaped the modern Republican Party: They were the driving force behind Ronald Reagan’s presidency in 1981.

Garza attributes neoconservatives’ success to their wide political outreach. Members of the movement, putting their differences aside, forged a compelling narrative on the issue of race and managed to convince a large demographic of their truth, thereby increasing their voter base. President Reagan, at the top of this movement, built a rhetoric that blamed the social woes of the time on the government, those in poverty, and Black communities. His politics, termed neoliberalism, included elements such as privatization, deregulation, tax breaks for the wealthy, increased military spending, and the rollback of social welfare programs implemented during the New Deal. Consequently, income disparity increased, disproportionately impacting Black communities. Smaller government also meant racist discrimination became more frequent, as banks, landlords, and other members of society now lacked state regulation.

Race was at the center of Reagan’s policies. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 specifically targeted Black and Latino communities, driving prison demographics toward a disproportionately Black and Latino population. Under Reagan, the Black woman was demonized as a “welfare queen” who exploited social programs at the expense of the average taxpayer. However, even as his policies targeted Black people, Reagan appointed Black conservatives to smooth the rhetoric and cover the racist nature of his reforms. For example, Clarence Thomas headed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and propagated the idea that discrimination was obsolete.

Garza’s childhood was impacted by these reforms. She taught herself to read at the age of three yet was refused admittance into public schools. Garza’s mother had to send her to a private school while attempting to find work to cover the increased fees. At work, Garza’s mother had to manage the sexual advances of her boss; after divorcing her husband, she could not secure enough funds to support her daughter. Reagan’s administration reinforced discrimination by propagating negative images of Black and gay communities and muddling information. It is why Garza’s first introduction to topics such as sex, sexuality, and the HIV crisis came not from textbooks or news sources but from MTV.

Garza’s earliest years were spent living with her single mom and her uncle in a two-bedroom apartment in a predominantly Black and Latino community. When she was four, her mother married and gave birth to her brother, Joey. Together with Garza’s Jewish stepdad, the family moved to a white, middle-class neighborhood in Tiburon when Garza was seven. Aware that she was one of the few Black students at school, Garza was cautioned to act twice as good as her peers. As her white classmates experimented with sex, drinking, and smoking outside of the watchful gaze of the adults, Garza focused on her studies. Yet the negative stereotype of Black communities and drug use persisted: Despite her efforts, Garza was still wrongly accused of smoking cannabis in the school’s bathroom. Even when Garza began testing the boundaries and experimenting with smoking, her mother insisted she do it at home rather than in public. Growing up, Garza was constantly reminded that by virtue of being Black, she would be more harshly punished for taking the same risks as her white peers. She attributes this discrimination to Reagan’s War on Drugs: While popular culture fetishized Black culture as cool, rebel, and renegade, the judiciary criminalized Black people for these same traits, whether those traits were present or not.

The final third of Chapter 2 explores conservatism’s impact on Black communities in the 1990s. George H. W. Bush’s administration appointed Clarence Thomas as Supreme Court Justice despite pushback from civil rights groups such as the NAACP and amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. At the same time, Black people faced escalating police violence. Rodney King was repeatedly struck and kicked by four police officers in Los Angeles. However, even with a bystander’s videotaped evidence, the officers were completely acquitted one year later. This ruling caused a civil uprising in Los Angeles that resulted in 12,000 arrests, thereby unearthing the era’s rising racial tensions.

Bill Clinton’s presidency is also notorious for further criminalizing Black people and limiting their access to government support. Despite being a Democrat, Clinton’s policies toed the conservative line. His War on Gangs, combined with economic decline and white flight from inner-cities, fueled the narrative of low-income Black communities as the cradle of violent crimes. Additionally, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which included work requirements for access, fettered Black people’s qualification for social aid.

The 1990s were also characterized by a profound divide in Black leadership. Previous figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton were assassinated. In their stead stood Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, leaders who worked at the detriment of Black communities for personal gain. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are deeply controversial figures even among Black communities. Garza concludes that her generation did not have the power to continue in their predecessor’s footsteps.

Female leadership was nowhere to be seen. With an increasingly capitalistic, opaque, and male-dominated leadership, Black people, including Garza, began to question their leaders’ vision for the future of Black America. This profound divide amidst a conservative consensus shaped Garza’s childhood and her early years as an organizer. They informed her opinion and taught her values, some of which she would later unlearn.

Garza argues that while the conservative movement’s constituent groups have found common ground in their anti-Black discriminatory policies, the progressive movement has yet to form a cohesive and united front. With Black leadership fragmented and the opponents unified, Garza finds it all the more necessary, at this historical junction, to build strong movements, train new Black leaders, and strive for social change.