The Critical Theory of Love

As someone born in February, this month holds a special place in my heart (my mom always called me her Valentine’s baby). Traditionally, this is a time we celebrate love, particularly notions of romantic love, or, more aptly, a commodified version that is neatly packaged by companies to fit a marketable and profitable ideal. Instead, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the many expressions of love in all its forms and its transformative power. Lately, I have been encountering the idea of love, and more specifically the concept of “leading with love,” across a variety of platforms and contexts – from thought-provoking op-eds in NonProfit Quarterly to the unifying themes of a recent presidential campaign. In this context, it feels especially fitting and timely to explore how the notion of love can serve as a compass, a guiding light in our pursuit of social justice.

Reflecting back on what attracted me most to Gathering Ground, I realize it was perhaps the overwhelming sense that love is deeply infused in our mission. It is more than just a sentiment shared by all of us. It is a radical, transformative force – one that compels us to build deep, authentic connections within our team and with our partners and peers, challenges and dismantles oppressive systems, and pushes us to reimagine new possibilities for our communities.  

Love, in this sense, is intentional, fierce, and courageous. It beckons us to listen deeply, stand in solidarity, and create spaces where all voices are uplifted, valued, and empowered. By leading with love, we nurture the trust, care, and collective action necessary to cultivate lasting, systemic change. 

American theologist, political activist, social critic, and former presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West reminds us that “justice is what love looks like in public,” and he often speaks of the need for “love warriors,” those who courageously lead with love, even in the face of injustice and adversity. His recent presidential campaign deployed “love warriors” as a rallying force for change. Being a “love warrior” means rejecting cynicism and despair, and instead embracing empathy, hope, and a commitment to the collective good. In these difficult times, when fear and division seem so pervasive, leading with love is not only essential but arguably a revolutionary act.

bell hooks offers us another profound insight on love. She wrote, “If I were really asked to define myself, I wouldn’t start with race; I wouldn’t start with blackness; I wouldn’t start with gender; I wouldn’t start with feminism. I would start with stripping down to what fundamentally informs my life, which is that I’m a seeker on the path… a path about love.” For hooks, love is a deliberate and continuous practice that calls us to transcend binary ways of thinking. “To commit to love is fundamentally to commit to a life beyond dualism. That’s why love is so sacred in a culture of domination because it simply begins to erode your dualisms: dualisms of black and white, male and female, right and wrong.” Her words challenge us to move away from the simplistic framing of binary thinking, and to embrace instead a deeper, more expansive vision of justice and liberation.

“Loving anybody and being loved by anybody is a tremendous danger, a tremendous responsibility.” – James Baldwin

Baldwin’s words call us to recognize love’s power to heal, transform, and demand accountability. Love requires openness, vulnerability, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths about the world around us and, perhaps even more pressingly and challenging, about ourselves. Approaching our work with a framework of love is not only essential, but I would argue imperative in our fight for justice and equity. 

A recent article in the NonProfit Quarterly by Durryle Brooks really resonated with me. In his piece “The Critical Theory of Love: Reconceptualizing Love for Social Justice” Brooks explores the catalyzing power and potential of love as a tool and force for transformation to be used by our sector in social justice work. Brooks, like Dr. West and bell hooks, challenges us to center our efforts on empathy, connection, and shared humanity, emphasizing that love is not passive or abstract but an active force for transformation. It empowers individuals to shape their own futures, fostering solutions that emerge from their lived experiences rather than imposed external prescriptions.

Leading with love also requires humility – a willingness to listen deeply, reflect on our own positionality and experience, and hold ourselves accountable. As a white-bodied woman leading a nonprofit organization, I recognize the importance of approaching this work with a profound sense of responsibility and an openness to feedback, especially regarding issues of power, privilege, and systemic inequities. True humility calls us to interrogate the ways we may inadvertently uphold biases, and systems of oppression, and to commit to ongoing learning and growth. 

The Critical Theory of Love reminds us that social justice work is not solely about resisting oppression and oppressive forces. What’s equally important to this work is fostering healing, reparative justice, and building relationships rooted in care and trust. While we maintain our focus on the struggle, we mustn’t lose sight of the joy, rest, and care that’s needed to sustain and fuel us and our efforts. The intentionality of creating such spaces is what I love most about our work at Gathering Ground. We create spaces where collaboration is not just productive but also restorative, leaving participants feeling not just heard, but inspired and valued. 

This approach is particularly important in addressing systemic inequities within the nonprofit sector itself. Traditional funding structures and organizational hierarchies can often perpetuate the very injustices we aim to dismantle. By leading with love and humility, we can reimagine these structures and systems in ways that prioritize equity, trust, belonging, and mutual respect. Staying open to new possibilities, alternatives often dismissed or unexamined, allows fresh ideas and solutions to emerge. For example, exploring participatory democracy and horizontally structured workplaces empowers all voices, fostering collaborative decision-making that reflects the diverse needs and perspectives of everyone involved.This shift can foster more inclusive and accountable organizations that genuinely embody our values.

Approaching social justice work with love also means being intentional about centering marginalized voices, particularly black and brown voices. BIPOC liberation is foundational to collective liberation, and we must ensure that our actions reflect this understanding. Embracing the creativity, resilience, and transformative power of BIPOC communities is not only a moral imperative but also a blueprint for building a more just and equitable world.

This February, as we celebrate love month, let us commit to embodying love’s most radical and courageous expressions. Let us be “love warriors,” champions of justice, empathy, and humanity. 

Together, emboldened by love, we can build a world where every individual and community feels safe and can thrive. By uniting, we can create movements that resist oppressive forces, uplift marginalized voices, and foster spaces of healing, hope, and radical transformation.

In Solidarity,

Maria Carnemolla, Executive Director