Hate Won't Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than We Found It

ISBN: 0306835401

Author: Mallory McMorrow

In this urgent expansion of her viral speech, Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow details a life in politics in one of the most precarious moments in our nation's history - alongside a call to action to use our voices--with actionable steps and advice that anyone can take--to build community, fight for what's right, and create real, lasting change. Mallory McMorrow was on the verge of giving up. Once the youngest state senator in Michigan's history--a title she assumed after defeating an incumbent in one of the biggest political upsets of 2018--the work of legislating was nothing like she'd hoped. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she wasn't expecting an insidious culture of sexual harassment, armed protestors storming the state Capitol, or colleagues who had zero interest in reaching across the aisle to get anything meaningful done. And things really needed to get done. A new mother to a baby girl, Mallory was as worried as the rest of us about the state of our country and the world. School shootings, dire climate reports, natural disasters, escalating political violence and extremism, a plummeting life expectancy and birth rate, crippling student and healthcare debt, the rolling back of reproductive rights... the list was overwhelming. Where could one even start? But then fate forced her hand. A Senate colleague had called her a "groomer" for standing up for LGBTQ+ kids and against attempts to whitewash history in our schools. In response, Mallory delivered a blistering rebuke with a speech from the Michigan Senate floor that reverberated throughout the country (and the world), leading many long-jaded political pundits to hail Mallory's action as a "blueprint" for fighting back. Here, Mallory breaks down her unlikely journey into politics with a front-row seat to conspiracy theories, division, and democracy at its breaking point, then outlines the tangible, proven steps that she and others have used to drive real systemic change, with practical advice that any