Alicia Garza built a career as a community organiser in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on labour, housing and racial justice issues before the moment that would define her national significance.
In July 2013, following George Zimmerman's acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin, Garza wrote a Facebook post expressing her grief and anger, ending with the phrase 'Black lives matter,' which her collaborator Patrisse Cullors turned into a hashtag.
Garza, together with Cullors and Opal Tometi, co-founded Black Lives Matter, and Garza brought extensive prior organising expertise to building the movement's strategic direction and organisational infrastructure in its formative years.
Garza has continued significant organising work beyond Black Lives Matter, founding Black Futures Lab and the Black to the Future Action Fund, focused on building Black political power through voter engagement and policy advocacy.
- Authored the original "Black lives matter" phrase that became the movement's name
- Co-founded Black Lives Matter (2013), one of the most significant social justice movements of the 21st century
- Founded Black Futures Lab, focused on building Black political power
- Brought extensive prior labour and housing organising experience to the movement's founding
- Authored a widely read book on organising strategy and movement building
- A single moment of personal expression can spark a global movement. Her Facebook post became the foundation for the movement's name and identity.
- Prior organising expertise strengthens new movement infrastructure. Her labour and housing organising background informed her approach to building Black Lives Matter.
- Movements benefit from translating grief into sustained strategy. Her subsequent work has focused on converting momentum into lasting political power.
- Collaborative founding combines complementary organising strengths. The shared co-founding with Cullors and Tometi brought together distinct organising skills.