Alicia Garza

Alicia Garza
Citizen University · CC BY 3.0 · source
Name	Alicia Garza
Birth name	Alicia Garza
Birth date	4 January 1981
Birth place	Oakland, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, San Diego (BA)
Occupation	Civil rights activist, writer, organizer
Known for	Co-founding Black Lives Matter
Spouse	Malachi Garza, 2008

Alicia Garza. Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist, writer, and organizer best known as a co-founder of the international Black Lives Matter movement. Her work, which centers on issues of racial justice, police brutality, and intersectional feminism, has significantly shaped contemporary activism and expanded the framework of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 21st century. Garza's advocacy emphasizes the interconnectedness of struggles against racism, sexism, and economic inequality.

Early life and education

Alicia Garza was born on January 4, 1981, in Oakland, California, a city with a deep history of Black political activism. Her mother, who worked as a paralegal, and her stepfather, a general contractor, instilled in her a strong sense of social justice from a young age. Garza attended University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology in 2002. Her time at UCSD exposed her to critical theories of race and gender, which profoundly influenced her future organizing philosophy. During her undergraduate years, she became involved with the Student Environmental Action Coalition and other campus groups focused on social change.

Career and activism

After graduating, Garza returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and began a career in community organizing. She worked for several prominent organizations, including the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) in San Francisco. Her early work focused on economic justice, tenant rights, and health equity for marginalized communities. In 2009, she became the Special Projects Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), an organization advocating for the rights of domestic workers in the United States. Through this role, she helped build power for a predominantly female and immigrant workforce, linking labor rights to broader racial and gender justice movements.

Co-founding Black Lives Matter

The catalyst for the global Black Lives Matter movement occurred in July 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Distraught by the verdict, Garza wrote a heartfelt Facebook post titled "A Love Letter to Black People," ending with the phrase "Black lives matter." Her friend and fellow activist Patrisse Cullors shared the post with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and a third organizer, Opal Tometi, built the first digital platforms for the burgeoning network. Together, the three women formally launched the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Garza's conceptual framing was crucial, insisting the statement was an affirmation of value in the face of systemic anti-Black racism and police violence, not a negation of other lives.

Broader political work and advocacy

Beyond her foundational role in Black Lives Matter, Garza has continued her advocacy through multiple channels. She is the principal at the Black Futures Lab, an organization she founded in 2018 to transform Black communities into influential political constituencies. The Lab's flagship project, the Black Census Project, is one of the largest surveys of Black people in the U.S. since the Reconstruction era. Garza also co-founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network and serves as the strategy and partnerships director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She is a prolific writer, with her commentary appearing in publications like The Guardian and The Nation, and she authored the book The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart (2020).

Influence on the US Civil Rights Movement

Alicia Garza's work represents a pivotal evolution within the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. She, alongside her co-founders, helped pioneer a decentralized, leader-full movement model that leverages social media for rapid mobilization and narrative control. Her insistence on an intersectional approach—explicitly connecting race, gender, sexual orientation, and class—has broadened the movement's scope and inclusivity, influencing groups like the Movement for Black Lives. By framing "Black lives matter" as a fundamental human rights principle, she connected contemporary struggles against police brutality to the historical long march for civil and political rights in America, inspiring a new generation of activists.

Awards and recognition

Garza has received numerous accolades for her activism and leadership. She was named on TIME magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world in 2020. Other notable honors include the Sydney Peace Prize (alongside Cullors and Tometi in 2017), being listed among the BBC's 100 Women in 2016, and receiving the Letelier-Moffitt Memorial Human Rights Award. In 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Claremont Graduate University for her contributions to social justice.

Personal life

Alicia Garza is married to Malachi Garza, a transgender activist and organizer who has worked with the Transgender Law Center and other advocacy groups. The couple, who wed in 2008, are open about their relationship and their shared commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice. They reside in Los Angeles. Garza identifies as queer and has spoken about how her personal identity informs her political vision of building inclusive, multi-racial coalitions for collective liberation.