"Impassioned and necessary, Omara''s book not only celebrates the courage and vision of Black female leaders but issues a call to all Americans to ''take up the mantle'' of community building alongside other instigators ''and fight to save our country.'' A timely book about the essential role of Black women in shaping--and preserving--American democracy." - Kirkus "Atima Omara''s brilliant examination of the known and unknown ways Black women have been crucial to preserving our precious democracy is urgent, riveting, and intellectually sound. This is essential reading, particularly in these precarious times." - April Ryan, author of Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem "This book is a love letter to the Black women who refuse to wait their turn, who organize in the shadows, and who quietly - and sometimes loudly - save American democracy over and over again. As someone who has spent years watching moms, volunteers, young organizers, and first-time candidates change what''s possible in our politics, this story feels both deeply familiar and urgently necessary. Atima Omara names and honors the women whose history is so often erased, while showing how their strategies, courage, and community-rooted leadership are the blueprint for winning the fights in front of us now. The Instigators is more than a history of Black women''s political power; it is a practical, hopeful field guide for anyone ready to trade cynicism for organizing and despair for action.

" - Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action, Author of Fired Up: How To Turn Your Spark Into A Flame and Come Alive At Any Age, New York Times & USA Today Best Seller "Atima Omara''s bold and timely book underscores Black women''s central role in the ongoing fight to build an inclusive democracy in the United States. Informed by decades of experience and a multitude of examples from history, The Instigators recognizes that young Black women possess the necessary tools, skills, and knowledge to strengthen this nation--a project they have inherited from their forebears. The Instigators is filled with vital lessons for those ready to listen." - Keisha N. Blain, author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights and co-editor of #1 New York Times Bestseller, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African-America 1619-2019 "Atima Omara''s The Instigators reminds us that Black women have always been the catalysts, the hell-raisers, the firestarters, the pilot lights of American democracy. This deeply historically grounded, unflinchingly honest book, calls the country to the carpet, and then systematically and lovingly rolls out a path forward." - Brittney Cooper, New York Times bestselling author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower "Part memoir, part grassroots political history and analysis, The Instigators shines a light on the critical and vital (yet often disregarded and discounted) work of Black women to fight for and advance a just and equitable country. Full of wisdom and guidance for those who care about democracy and especially for those who are desperate for a way out of our current morass.

America needs this!" - Kumea Shorter-Gooden, Ph.D., Co-author Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America "In The Instigators , Atima Omara says the quiet part out loud. From the double standards and all the ''isms'' that are thrown at Black women working to make American Democracy live up to its ideal to the resilience and advancements that have been exhibited and won. The Instigators is a must read for anyone who wants a holistically authentic view of the lived experience of Black women in American politics. She adroitly ties the stories of icons such as Ida B. Wells and Mary McCloud Bethune to the strides and progress being led by current Instigators such as Maya Rupert and Kat Calvin. As much as the challenges have remained the same for generations, incremental progress continues to inspire.

As a fellow Instigator I felt seen, inspired and reaffirmed in my commitment to make this a ''more perfect union." - Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co-founder and former co-director of Higher Heights for America and Visiting Practitioner at the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University "Atima Omara has written a rare political book that powerfully illustrates how generations of Black women have learned to understand power, build coalitions, and move institutions that were designed to exclude them. The result is a celebration, an indictment, an honest account of what it costs to carry democracy on your back, and an instruction manual on what the rest of the country can learn from the people who have been forced to become its most effective architects. The Instigators is sharp, practical, and deeply human. It connects history to the present while flattening neither, and offers a roadmap for all of us who want to build a durable multiracial democracy. This is what leadership looks like when it''s forged, not granted, and the clearest case for where true American greatness lives." - #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon McMahon, The Small & The Mighty.