Our Beautiful Next

The real battleground for social change is our collective imagination—and the world we seek is closer than we think.

What does it take to build a world rooted in collective joy and thriving—and why, when we have the knowledge and expertise to feed people, house people, and heal people, don't we? Makani Themba's answer begins with power: how it works, how it shapes what we believe is possible, and how controlling our imagination is the primary tool of those who benefit from things staying the same.

Our Beautiful Next is an invitation to step into our full power as changemakers and deepen our understanding of how change actually happens. Drawing on ancestral wisdom, personal narratives, poetry, practical tools, and science, Themba challenges long-held notions about transformative change—what it looks like, what it requires of us, and what it means to build the kind of power that makes it possible.

Part of the Emergent Strategy Series, with a foreword by series editor adrienne maree brown.