Imagine Freedom

A social activist, journalist, public theologian, and international speaker who has become a powerful and brilliant voice of her generation offers a bold path to liberation and healing for people of African descent struggling in the shadows of the American Dream.

The United States is at a critical juncture in its history. Not since the 1960s has the nation been so racially divided. White supremacy remains America’s Achilles’ heel—a moral failure that haunts us and holds us back from being the great nation we profess. For centuries, people of African descent have endured unimaginable hatred and discrimination which has manifested in pain and trauma passed from generation to generation. To break free from this historical cycle of suffering and be truly free at last, Black and brown people must reimagine ourselves, our communities, this country, and our relationship to Africa.

Weaving storytelling, socioeconomic analysis, and cultural criticism with the spiritual and political threads of liberation theology and Pan Africanism, Imagine Freedom empowers us to begin the difficult but necessary work of decolonizing our minds and overcoming the lies we have been told about ourselves for centuries. Sobering and inspiring, filled with despair and hope, Rahiel Tesfamariam dares us to see the world through a larger historical and global lens— to understand how our quests for freedom and healing are intrinsically connected to our past, present, and future. By widening our vision, we discover new ways of imagining self, community, nation, and world, and most importantly, a new way to achieve the freedom that has been too long denied.

“Rahiel Tesfamariam is one of the grand love warriors and freedom fighters of her generation. This powerful and truthful book lays bare her prophetic Christian witness, as thinker, writer, mother, and activist. Don’t miss it!” — Cornel West, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair, Union Theological Seminary“What the world needs is in the pages of Imagine Freedom. Delivered in the unique, soul-stirring way that only Rahiel can share. What she has gifted the movement fills me with hope and excitement.” — Ayo Tometi, cocreator of #BlackLivesMatter“Healing, freedom, a global imagination, and love stand at the heart of Rahiel Tesfamariam’s powerful vision. At once intimate and searing, Imagine Freedom is a testament of faith from the voice of a generation that calls us to collective dreaming.”— Eddie S. Glaude Jr., New York Times bestselling author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own“As a feminist theologian, Imagine Freedom is the seminal work of our generation. Tesfamariam’s voice reads like fire. Her words are as healing as they are transformational. This is the book I both refer to and recommend for anyone seeking to know true power.” — Meggan Watterson, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mary Magdalene Revealed“Imagine Freedom is a deep dive into personal and collective trauma—a dive from which the reader emerges cleansed, renewed, and transformed. Beautifully written from a Black, Christian perspective, Tesfamariam’s personal stories and life lessons speak to all of us. It is a balm for the angst we feel living in a world of war, chaos, and indifference to our pain and the pain of others. Read it, gift it to your loved ones, and let’s use it to collectively move forward with greater intention and imagination towards the world we want to create.” — Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CodePink“Rahiel Tesfamariam’s Imagine Freedom proves she is a searing sage and a sublime griot who inspires us to imagine a noble present and a beautiful future. Tesfamariam’s brilliant book shines ancestral wisdom in the deep shadows of contemporary struggle to light our embrace of revolutionary change. She blesses us as she breathes new hope into spiritual warfare against social injustice and political despair. Behold a millennial prophet who speaks truth in love to our age and who blazes a path for the millennium to come!” — Michael Eric Dyson, University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University“Rahiel Tesfamariam’s moving, deeply personal account reveals just how much our future as African-descended people is bound up with our past. Our collective trauma, she argues, has not immobilized us. Rather, it has been the stony road we traveled and transformed along the way. We feel, think, and create from a place of catastrophe—the same place from which we heal, build, and dream. Imagine Freedom illuminates the path to liberation. — Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination“Rahiel Tesfamariam’s poetic and prophetic voice brilliantly surveys the fractured American social and spiritual landscape to help us all reimagine freedom, dignity, and human thriving in modern society. Part spiritual reflection, part memoir, and Baldwin-esque essay, this thoughtful and beautiful publication will be quoted, studied, and referenced by future generations who are yet to be born.” — Otis Moss III, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ“Rahiel Tesfamariam has devoted her life to global liberation struggles and spiritual awakening. With her characteristic grace, soul, and fire, she invites us to dream our world anew.” — Imani Perry, National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow"From Eritrea to Wakanda to Palestine to the church pew; Imagine Freedom reminds us of the interconnectedness of all those oppressed--our pain and our refusal to be erased. A book that demands unapologetic truth-telling as we excavate our histories, and durable hope as we expand our collective imagination for healing. On the journey to liberation, Tesfamariam is a dauntless and honest guide."  — Cole Arthur Riley, creator of Black Liturgies and author of This Here Flesh“In this inspired appeal, Rahiel Tesfamariam gracefully argues for the urgency of enacting a love-driven spirit and politics now. Not only to help heal Black people from the harm done but as the foundation for building the future we want.” — Tricia Rose, author of Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives and How We Break Free

Rahiel Tesfamariam is an award-winning activist, journalist, theologian, and international speaker. A former Washington Post columnist, she is the founder of Urban Cusp, a cutting-edge online community highlighting faith, social change, culture, and global awareness. Amidst the Ferguson Uprising, Rahiel led #NotOneDime, a national economic boycott. For years, she worked in Africa, organizing with Pan-African movements across the continent. Rahiel is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Divinity School, where she was the inaugural William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Scholar for Peace and Justice. As a generational voice, she has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Ebony, Elle, and on BET and Revolt TV. Essence magazine named Rahiel one of the nation's "New Civil Rights Leaders." Visit Rahiel.com and connect on social media: @RahielT.

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