An Interview With The Founders of Black Lives Matter: What They Have Learnt About Leadership

    The resource above is a TED interview with Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi who are the founders of Black Lives Matter.

    In this video, the three female leaders shared what they’ve learnt about leadership by leading this global organization, how people could participate in the movement and also the importance of Black Lives Matter.

    Here are some quotes from the interview that I think are inspiring to the ones who aim to become a leader and lead powerful movements.

“I think our work as movement leaders isn't just about our own visibility but rather how do we make the whole visible. How do we not just fight for our individual selves but fight for everybody? And I also think leadership looks like everybody in this audience showing up for black lives. It's not just about coming and watching people on a stage, right? It's about how do you become that leader -- whether it's in your workplace, whether it's in your home.” —Patrisse Cullors

“What I learned in this process was that we need to acknowledge that different people contribute different strengths, and that in order for our entire team to flourish, we have to allow them to share and allow them to shine. I realized that my own leadership, and the contributions that I'm able to make, is in large part due to the contributions that they make. And I have to acknowledge that, and I have to see that, and so my new mantra is, ‘Keep calm and trust the team’ and also, ‘Keep calm and thank the team’.” —Opal Tometi

“We are ordinary people attempting to do extraordinary things, and so we need to be supported in that way. I think another way that we can support leaders is to struggle with us, but struggle with us politically, not personally. We can have disagreements without being disagreeable, but it's important for us to sharpen each other, so that we all can rise.” —Alicia Garza