Book Club: The Four Pivots

Join Greens REALIGN in reading and discussing The Four Pivots, Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves by Shawn A. Ginwright. This virtual event series is open to all and  will focus on reflection and discussion of how we, as individuals  deeply embedded within the environmental movement, can deepen our  activism and leadership towards a just and inclusive movement through  internal reflection and transformation through the four pivots.  Each  session will cover a portion of the book concerning one of the pivots.  Read along or simply join for the discussion!

Schedule

• Monday, December 12 (Introduction & Pivot 1: From Lens to Mirror, Chapters 1-3)
• Monday, January 9 (Pivot 2: From Transactional to Transformative, Chapters 4-6)
• Monday, February 13 (Pivot 3: From Problem to Possibility, Chapters 7-9)
• Monday, March 13 (Pivot 4: From Hustle to Flow, Chapters 10-12)

About the Four Pivots  “Reading  this courageous book feels like the beginning of a social and personal  awakening…I can’t stop thinking about it.”—Brené Brown, PhD, author of Atlas of the Heart   For readers of Emergent Strategy and Dare to Lead, an activist’s roadmap to long-term social justice impact through four simple shifts.  We  need a fundamental shift in our values–a pivot in how we think,  act,  work, and connect. Despite what we’ve been told, the most critical   mainspring of social change isn’t coalition building or problem   analysis. It’s healing: deep, whole, and systemic, inside and out.   Here,  Shawn Ginwright, PhD, breaks down the common myths of social   movements–a set of deeply ingrained beliefs that actually hold us back   from healing and achieving sustainable systemic change. He shows us why   these frames don’t work, proposing instead four revolutionary pivots  for  better activism and collective leadership:

Awareness: from lens to mirror

Connection: from transactional to transformative relationships

Vision: from problem-fixing to possibility-creating

Presence: from hustle to flow

Supplemented   with reflections, prompts, cutting-edge research, and the author’s own   insights and lived experience as an African American social scientist,   professor, and movement builder, The Four Pivots helps   us uncover our obstruction points. It shows us how to discover new   lenses and boldly assert our need for connection, transformation,  trust,  wholeness, and healing. It gives us permission to create a  better  future–to acknowledge that a broken system has been predefining  our  dreams and limiting what we allow ourselves to imagine, but that it   doesn’t have to be that way at all. Are you ready to pivot?