Imagine flipping through pages that make you rethink everything about power, leadership, and who gets to shape democracy. That's the ride Eddie S. Glaude Jr. takes you on in We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, based on his powerful W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures at Harvard.
Remember the buzz around Obama's election? Glaude did too, but it left him uneasy. We keep looking to charismatic figures—prophets, saviors—to solve our problems. Yet here we are, democracy fraying at the edges, Black politics stuck in loops of disappointment. It's exhausting, right? This book cuts through that, arguing we can't outsource our future to elites anymore.
Glaude dives deep into Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker—not as distant icons, but as guides for now. King's moral fire, Malcolm's unfiltered truth, Baker's grassroots genius—they all point to one thing: ordinary folks hold the real power. He weaves in Emerson, Dewey, Baldwin, Morrison, and Ellison, showing how their ideas help us tackle today's messes like voter suppression, inequality, and division.
Reading this feels like a heartfelt talk with a wise friend who's been through it. Glaude shares his own journey—from Obama-era hopes to today's urgency—making the philosophy personal. You'll walk away seeing your own potential to influence change, whether chatting politics at family dinners, joining community efforts, or just voting with fresh eyes. It's about becoming better people, stronger together, drawing strength from the crowd, not the stage.
Grab it for election season reflection, a book club sparking real debates, or quiet nights pondering your role in history. At 224 pages of dense, passionate prose, it's the kind of read that lingers, pushing you to act. If you're into Black thought, American democracy, or personal empowerment through ideas, this hardcover belongs on your shelf—ready to inspire whenever you need it.
