Quotes for the Revolution

Being an activist is hard work. One of the things that makes it more bearable is learning about the activists who have come before you.  I love quotes and often find quotes from activists I admire to give me inspiration to continue on the fight. Some of my favorite activists are: Audre Lorde, Gandhi, Malcolm X, Andrea Dworkin, Leslie Feinberg, Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Frederick Douglass, Gloria Anzaldua, Alice Paul, Sylvia Rivera, Shirley Chisholm, Harvey Milk, Ida B. Wells, Cesar Chavez, Howard Zinn, and many more everyday people who stood up, fought back and tried their best to do the right thing.

Quotes for the Revolution :  Compiled by Joelle Ruby Ryan

If I can’t do it, it ain’t worth doing. – Arthur Campbell, Jr.

When I dare to be powerful, to use my life in service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.  – Audre Lorde

Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.  – Mother Jones

We are the ones we have been waiting for.  – June Jordan

We can only be considered “gender-bent” in a society that’s gender-rigid. – Leslie Feinberg

Anything we love can be saved.  – Alice Walker

Activism is my rent for living on this planet.  - Alice Walker

You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.     

 – Maya Angelou

I am not only a casualty, I am also a warrior.  – Audre Lorde

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.  – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.  – Frederick Douglas

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. – Frederick Douglas

Greatness is not measured by what a person accomplishes, but by the opposition they have overcome to reach their goals.   – Dorothy Height

Feminism is hated because women are hated. Anti-feminism is a direct expression of misogyny; it is the political defense of women hating. - Andrea Dworkin

Be the change that you want to see in the world.   -Mohandas Gandhi

I am, was, and always will be a catalyst for change. – Shirley Chisholm

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.     - Dalai Lama

Failure is impossible. – Susan B. Anthony 

You can kill a revolutionary but you can never kill the revolution. - Fred Hampton 

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.  – Australian Aboriginal Group

You are a star, everybody is one.  You are a star, you only happen once. – Sylvester

As far as I'm concerned, being any gender is a drag. -Patti Smith

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. - Che Guevera                       

As long as there is rape... there is not going to be any peace or justice or equality or freedom. You are not going to become what you want to become or who you want to become. You are not going to live in the world you want to live in.  – Andrea Dworkin 

Do not feel shame for how I live. I chose this tribe of warriors and outlaws.  – Essex Hemphill

I am in the world to change the world.   – Kathe Kollwitz

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.  – Margaret Mead

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.  – Wade Davis

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. 
 – Jimi Hendrix

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.  - Based on a Cree Proverb

I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.  I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don’t think it will be based on the color of the skin.  
 – Malcolm X