Revolutionize Now: Creative Leadership & Action for Social Change by Jada Monica Drew, self published, 2016
To some people, social-justice circles can feel unwelcoming and cliquish. It can feel, some say, like trying to join a club where you don’t speak the language.
Those are the sorts of barriers that Guilford College grad and former college multicultural educator Jada Monica Drew dismantles while delivering a practical, step-by-step guide for leadership and social action in her first book, Revolutionize Now.
The book is designed as a tool for those seeking to build stronger and more inclusive social-justice movements, whether they are new at trying to create change or elders who may now find it easier to name and describe their techniques. Revolutionize Now could be considered a fast read at just 126 pages, many of them with blank space for readers to fill in their own answers to questions such as, “What are three things you can openly share that will help people understand you better?” But for those ready to utilize it as a handbook for conceptualizing a project or effort to actualize change, this means that Drew’s thoughtful frameworks will take much longer to consider and complete.
There’s nothing boring about Drew’s book — she makes sure of that with inclusions such as “Jada’s Social Justice & Empowerment Playlist” tucked into the end with 35 jams ranging from Pete Seeger to Kendrick Lamar.
Revolutionize Now should be of particular interest to locals; Drew outlines initiatives she’s propelled in Greensboro, makes local references including Dudley High School and ArtsGreensboro and includes personal narratives to illustrate her points. The endorsing quote on the back of the book from former High Point human relations director Al Heggins underscores its Triad relevance. But the book appeals far beyond the three cities, put forward instead as an invitation to anyone to be an effective agent for change.
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