“We have a political culture of intimidation, of favoring, of patronage, and of fear, and that is no way for a community to be governed.”

The Republicans galvanize their base by inciting a lot of fear; they operate on a lot of mythmaking. So we have to have something compelling. We shouldn’t be afraid to be bold.

I felt like the only way to effectively run for office is if you had access to a lot of wealth, high social influence, a lot of dynastic power, and I knew that I didn’t have any of those things.

Campaigns are so much more expensive than people think they are. Just to keep the lights on is several thousand dollars a month.

Not all Democrats are the same.

I know what it’s like to access the privilege of a ZIP Code but also be born in one that could have destined me to something else.

I knew that our community needed a very clear voice. and I think we deserved representation that rejected lobbyist funds and put our voters and our community first.

Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office.

For me, democratic socialism is about – really, the value for me is that I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live.

I see people like me, who thought someone like me couldn’t be in politics, now are saying, ‘Oh, wait, I don’t need to take money from corporations to run. Maybe I’ll run, too.’

I wake up every day, and I’m a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx. Every single day.

I don’t think most of Congress understands how economics works.

Capitalism has not always existed in the world and will not always exist in the world.

I wasn’t born to a wealthy or powerful family – mother from Puerto Rico, dad from the South Bronx.

I’m an educator. I’m an organizer.

The only time we create any kind of substantive change is when we reach out to a disaffected electorate and inspire and motivate them to vote.

Rather than think of it as somewhere to run from, the Bronx is somewhere to invest.

There hath not one tear dropped from thy tender eye against thy lusts, the love of this world, or for more communion with Jesus Christ, but as it is now in the bottle of God.

Islam is perfect, there is nothing to be added or changed.

It is not arrogance to appreciate what Allah has blessed you with; arrogance is to ascribe those blessings to yourself.

The revolution should not be an individual one but a collective one.

To protect any community, we need intelligence and to nourish it we need humility.

Strive for the Hereafter according to how long you shall remain there, and strive for this world according to how long you shall remain here.

We have shown that Islam can rule the world perfectly for 14 centuries, and during this time of Muslim power we did not borrow ideas like democracy from others, so why do we need to learn democracy from them now?

Every time I travel, government TSA officials seem to recognize that I’m a Muslim and ‘randomly’ pull me aside for ‘special treatment’.