doi:10.7916/ksbx-j526Oral history interview with Alicia Garza, 2022Garza, Alicia, 1981-oral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesBlack lives matter movement--United StatesPolice brutality--United StatesRacial justice--United StatesGarza, Alicia, 1981-Obama, BarackBrown, Michael, Jr., 1996-2014Black Lives Matter Global Network FoundationUnited States. President's Task Force on 21st Century PolicingAlicia Garza reflects on her development as an activist, community organizer, and political strategist, describes her activities during the years of the Obama presidency, and provides details about her participation in movement responses to major instances of police violence, including the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement and Black Lives Matter Global Network. Garza discusses her tenant organizing work in Oakland and San Francisco, the evolution of activism for racial and economic justice over the course of the Obama years, and the Obama administration's engagement with that activism, including by the invitation of movement leaders to White House meetings, and the creation of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing in 2014, following the murder of Michael Brown. Also discussed are Obama's approach to speaking about race and racism in America as president, the importance of stories and cultural products about national political identity, and the expectations for the Obama presidency following Obama's election in 2008