Patrisse Cullors is a radical queer black woman, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement and the author of her new memoir, “When They Call You A Terrorist.”

Cullors has a lot write about, because people have a lot to say — both about her as an activist and Black Lives Matter as a whole.

In her book, Cullors discusses her tumultuous childhood growing up in Los Angeles where she saw daily injustices against people of color. She was raised during the era of the war on drugs, where family members and friends were impacted by unjust laws and incarcerated at unfair rates.

“I explore the conditions that poor black people experience,” Cullors told Blavity in a video interview about her memoir. “Criminalization was normal and it wasn’t until I got older that I realized this was not acceptable.”

Cullors’ life journey is a tumultuous one, but her experiences helped to make her the fearless organizer she is today and led her into an inspiring life mission. She, along with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, helped to build the Black Lives Matter movement, transforming it into a phrase with power and a movement with a mission. She recalls on these early days in the book.

“When we built out Black Lives Matter, it was organic but very purposeful,” Cullors said. “This memoir is really about trying to tell how one becomes an activist, what type of conditions make someone want to fight back, make someone want to create something like Black Lives Matter.”

After responding to the painful police killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, the three women came together with a commitment to transform the ways black people were treated, both in America and beyond. Now, with more than 40 chapters around the globe, Cullors said Black Lives Matter is ready to tackle pressing issues in 2018 with a new agenda and a new strategy.

However, what Cullors said she found most meaningful about her life’s work so far is that she has witnessed so many black people creating a new lane to give back.

“There’s no way that there could be something like a Women’s March or something like a #TimesUp if it wasn’t for Black Lives Matter building that foundation around how we fight back,” she said. “Black Lives Matter, we exist. We’re here and we’re ready.”