From the author of the New York Times bestseller Begin Again, a politically astute, lyrical meditation on how ordinary people can shake off their reliance on a small group of professional politicians and assume responsibility for what it takes to achieve a more just and perfect democracy.

Preeminent scholar and New York Times bestselling author Eddie Glaude makes the case that the hard work of becoming a better person should be a critical feature of Black politics. Through virtuoso interpretations of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, Glaude shows how we can become the heroes that our democracy desperately needs.

Based on the Du Bois Lectures delivered at Harvard University, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For begins by recalling Glaude’s unease with the Obama years. The excitement around the Obama presidency, Glaude argues, constrained our politics as we turned to yet another prophet-like figure who overwhelmed citizen voices. Weaving together a personal story of political evolution with the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Dewey, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison, Glaude encourages us to address imaginatively the challenges of our day in voices uniquely our own.

With passion and philosophical insight, Glaude offers a powerful reminder that if American democracy is to survive, we must step out from under the shadows of giants and build a society that derives its strength from the pews, not the pulpit.

"Such an important book…A call for people to take control of our democracy." - MSNBC Morning Joe

"This is a beautiful book [that] tackles some very big ideas…An absolute call to action." - PBS NewsHour

"A call to rethink American leadership." - WAMU

"It's a must read…He makes the argument that for too long we've outsourced our responsibility to democracy, to politicians, to prophets, to heroes. While it's comforting to put the fate of the democracy in the hands of visionaries, Glaude encourages the individual to take the first steps toward reaching a freer, more equitable society." - MSNBC

"Though they speak directly to tendencies within the ongoing Black political struggle, the wisdom these important essays offer about the true nature of democratic action is equally relevant to all Americans seeking to rebuild a ravaged democracy and its broken institutions. A powerfully eloquent, concise book." - Kirkus Reviews