“I’m used to people kind of knowing me in the community.”

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.

People try to identify who is the most likely person to turn out, and what we did is that we changed who turns out. And that changes the whole electorate.

I was born in a place where your ZIP code determines your destiny.

When people feel like they are being spoken directly to, I do feel like… they’ll do things like turn out in an off-year, mid-year primary.

There’s something really powerful about groups and shared experiences. People might be skeptical about their ability to change if they’re by themselves, but a group will convince them to suspend disbelief. A community creates belief.

Young people often serve as scapegoats for the challenges communities face.

Belief is easier when it occurs within a community.

There is a community in hip-hop. It doesn’t seem like that anywhere else, except maybe in punk rock. But punk rock is tricky, because it has become such a pop thing. But in rap, there is still a feeling of community. Who are our peers? Rappers.

The same process that makes AA so effective-the power of a group to teach individuals how to believe-happens whenever people come together to help one another change. Belief is easier when it occurs within a community.

My sincere hope and prayer is that, on the Day of Judgment, my Lord’s angels also recognize me as a Muslim and pull me aside for special treatment

I am not a hoodlum. I’m a community organizer.

The Prophet defeated the enemies of Islam even when he and his followers were small in number.