I literally read this book in one day, and it absolutely blew my mind. I have no doubt that I'll go back to revisit some of the ideas and passages I highlighted throughout. With this book, I've finally found a starting point and framework to tackle some of the thoughts that have been clattering around in my brain.

Emergent Strategy uses the writings of Afrofuturist Octavia Butler as a starting point. From there, brown builds a framework for understanding activism as a "practice of science fiction." In other words, activism is nothing more than science fiction - imagining how the world can be in the future, hopefully for the better. It is imagination and futurism at work.

I've considered myself to be an Afrofuturist for a long time, but I had trouble envisioning a way to move from idea to practice. Emergent Strategy provides the path for that shift and, holy cow, is it mind expanding! I highlighted a TON of passages in the book, are a few nuggets of knowledge adrienne maree brown drops about the intersection of science fiction and activism:

We are in an imagination battle... Imagination gives us borders, gives us superiority, gives us race as an indicator of capability. I often feel I am trapped inside someone else's imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free.

...social justice work is about creating systems of justice and equity in the future, creating conditions that we have never experienced. That is a futurist focus, and the practices of collaboration and adaptation and transformative justice are science fictional behavior.

We are living now inside the imagination of people who thought economic disparity and environmental destruction were acceptable costs for their power.  It is our right and responsibility to write ourselves into the future. All organizing is science fiction. If you are shaping the future, you are a futurist. And visionary fiction is a way to practice the future in our minds, alone and together.

There's SO much in the book to chew on, ruminate on, and wrestle with! I can't recommend this book enough. Especially for people who are looking to align their lifestyle with their values, those interested in what activism can learn from nature (aka biomimicry), and how our personal voices, choices and imaginations can lead to a brighter future for all.