Imagine Freedom

Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power

By: Rahiel Tesfamariam

Narrated by: Rahiel Tesfamariam

A social activist, journalist, public theologian, and international speaker who has become a powerful and brilliant voice of her generation offers a bold path to liberation and healing for people of African descent struggling in the shadows of the American Dream.

The United States is at a critical juncture in its history. Not since the 1960s has the nation been so racially divided. White supremacy remains America’s Achilles’ heel—a moral failure that haunts us and holds us back from being the great nation we profess. For centuries, people of African descent have endured unimaginable hatred and discrimination which has manifested in pain and trauma passed from generation to generation. To break free from this historical cycle of suffering and be truly free at last, Black and brown people must reimagine ourselves, our communities, this country, and our relationship to Africa.

Weaving storytelling, socioeconomic analysis, and cultural criticism with the spiritual and political threads of liberation theology and Pan Africanism, Imagine Freedom empowers us to begin the difficult but necessary work of decolonizing our minds and overcoming the lies we have been told about ourselves for centuries. Sobering and inspiring, filled with despair and hope, Rahiel Tesfamariam dares us to see the world through a larger historical and global lens—to understand how our quests for freedom and healing are intrinsically connected to our past, present, and future. By widening our vision, we discover new ways of imagining self, community, nation, and world, and most importantly, a new way to achieve the freedom that has been too long denied.

©2024 Rahiel Tesfamariam (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

A +

a beautiful black liberation book that weaves, spiritually personal story hope and intersectionality. also pan-africanism

A Generational Love Offering

Imagine Freedom is a transformative treasure that I didn't know my spirit needed. Rahiel takes listeners on a freedom journey towards liberation. A three part exploration of resilience (reclamation of power and trauma healing), resistance (the souls battle with capitalism, impact of the media, the need for uprising, pan-African diasporic solidarity), and redemption (the power of self-determination, love, and faith). A love letter to the African Diaspora. The book is a guide for all those in search of a better way of living and being, regardless of your race or faith.

The audible reading by the author, breathes life to the written word found on each page, even after reading the book - I found myself going back to underline concepts and questions I missed. The pain and joy captured throughout the audible reading of the book kept me inspired and hopeful along the way as the author challenges listeners to consider and explore complex societal issues and their own truth.

I would highly recommend both the audible and book.

Outstanding Performance by the Arthur letting freedom ring in the spirit of god’s grace and mercy.

What an amazing opportunity for all of us to make this dream come true for our children

A most excellent and timely read

This is a book that comes right on time from a living human rights activist and emphatic lover of ALL of our Black people all over the African diaspora. Tesfamariam holds love accountable on levels that we dare not speak of in the public sphere. She demands more of each of us—that we regulate and interrogate systems in our own lives and in this country and not conflate our excellence, worth, and success with capitalistic, glorified, or popular measures of flaunt-worthy social media braggadocio. Imagine Freedom is a clarion call to closely examine what we have bought into as the norm and shows how disparate this trade-off is from our ancestors’ “wildest dreams.”

Tesfamariam’s writing is divinely guided by compelling truths, comprehensive research, and deep urgency. She is rooting for our personal and collective transformation. Ultimately, her work is a love letter and call to action to courageously examine what impedes our liberation and create new models of self-worth and success with an agape love and radical inclusion for our people by our people.

Passionate and Riveting

I watched your interview with Amanda Seales and was inspired to read your book. I felt all of your heart and soul that you put into this book. It was inspirational and informative. I come from the midwest, Utah... I appreciate your work and feel more emboldened and inspired to speak out and fight for change. Thank you

A Blessing

A inspirational word for today. Listen, learn, and leave grounded in faith. We can imagine and manifest our freedom.

The whole book was awesome Amazing book

I can relate and identify with everything that was being said in this book. Awesome book kudos to Rahel.

This Is Freedom!

This was such a great read. The start seems aggressive until the rest begins to fill in the gaps for where I thought was aggressive now seems extremely necessary and should be understood.