# Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/viral-justice-how-we-grow-the-world-we-want/
- Published: 2022-10-12T09:39:35+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Long before the pandemic, Ruha Benjamin was doing groundbreaking research on race,
technology, and justice, focusing on big, structural changes. But the twin plagues
of COVID-19 and anti-Black police violence inspired her to rethink the importance
of small, individual actions. **

Part memoir, part manifesto, _Viral Justice _is a sweeping and deeply personal exploration
of how we can transform society through the choices we make every day.

Vividly recounting her personal experiences and those of her family, Benjamin shows
how seemingly minor decisions and habits could spread virally and have exponentially
positive effects. She recounts her father’s premature death, illuminating the devastating
impact of the chronic stress of racism, but she also introduces us to community 
organizers who are fostering mutual aid and collective healing. Through her brother’s
experience with the criminal justice system, we see the trauma caused by policing
practices and mass imprisonment, but we also witness family members finding strength
as they come together to demand justice for their loved ones.

And while her own challenges as a young mother reveal the vast inequities of our
healthcare system, Benjamin also describes how the support of doulas and midwives
can keep Black mothers and babies alive and well.

Born of a stubborn hopefulness, _Viral Justice _offers a passionate, inspiring, 
and practical vision of how small changes can add up to large ones, transforming
our relationships and communities and helping us build a more just and joyful world.

## About Ruha Benjamin

Ruha Benjamin ([@ruha9](https://twitter.com/ruha9)) is an internationally recognised
writer, speaker, and Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University,
where she is the founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab. She is the
award-winning author of _Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim
Code_ and editor of _Captivating Technology_, among many other publications.

Her work has been featured widely in the media, including the _New York Times_, 
the _Washington Post_, _CNN_, _The Root_, and _The Guardian_. 

> It’s [#ViralJustice](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ViralJustice?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> Pub Day! Let’s be extra and give the people an original mix to rock to while you
> read 🎶 [https://t.co/Su1VWRokeU](https://t.co/Su1VWRokeU) 🎧 [pic.twitter.com/UuPd7LOlhO](https://t.co/UuPd7LOlhO)
> — Ruha Benjamin (@ruha9) [October 11, 2022](https://twitter.com/ruha9/status/1579816605114327041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## Reviews

“Compelling . . . . The final pages of Benjamin’s _Viral Justice _are a testament
to human resilience, to finding meaning in little acts, imbuing beauty in the mundane,
and growing a garden from a seed.”
**Mehr Tarar_, Stanford Social Innovation Review_**“
There’s no one better to light the way out and guide us in building a just future
than Ruha Benjamin.”**Karla J. Strand, _Ms. Magazine_**

“A book as urgent as the moment that produced it.”
**Jelani Cobb, Columbia Journalism
School**

![Viral Justice book promotion with quote](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/
2022/10/viral-justice-book-promotion.jpeg)