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In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.

Angela Davis

No march, movement, or agenda that defines manhood in the narrowest terms and seeks to make women lesser partners in this quest for equality can be considered a positive step.
ANGELA DAVIS

Agenda Consideration Equality Movement Seek Women
To understand how any society functions you must understand the relationship between the men and the women.
ANGELA DAVIS

Function Men Relationship Society Understand Women
It’s true that it’s within the realm of cultural politics that young people tend to work through political issues, which I think is good, although it’s not going to solve the problems.
ANGELA DAVIS

Culture Issue People Politics Problem Solution True
If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night.
ANGELA DAVIS

Feminism Morning Night
I decided to teach because I think that any person who studies philosophy has to be involved actively.
ANGELA DAVIS

Acticity Decision Involvement Person Philosophy Study Teaching
I never saw myself as an individual who had any particular leadership powers.
ANGELA DAVIS

Individual Leadership Myself Particular Power
Black women have had to develop a larger vision of our society than perhaps any other group.
ANGELA DAVIS

Development Perhaps Racism Vision Women
We should seek out all the doors which still remain ajar, however slight the opening might be.
ANGELA DAVIS

Door Hope Jail Open Seek
You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.
ANGELA DAVIS

Act Radical Time Transformation World
I don’t think we have any alternative other than remaining optimistic. Optimism is an absolute necessity, even if it’s only optimism of the will, as Gramsci said, and pessimism of the intellect.
ANGELA DAVIS

Absolute Alternative Intellectual Necessity Optimistic Thinking
Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s actually going to be possible.
ANGELA DAVIS

Actual Hope Justice Struggle Work
Prison relieves us of the responsibility of seriously engaging with the problems of our society, especially those produced by racism and, increasingly, global capitalism.
ANGELA DAVIS

Capital Global Prison Problem Produce Racism Relieve Responsiblity Serious Society
Walls turned sideways are bridges.
ANGELA DAVIS

Bridge One Liner Wall
I think in black communities today we need to encourage a lot more cross racial organizing.
ANGELA DAVIS

Black Lives Matter Community Encouragement Radical
Justice is indivisible. You can’t decide who gets civil rights and who doesn’t.
ANGELA DAVIS

Civil Decision Justice Rights
It’s my body and I have the right to do whatever I want to do with it. So does every other female on this planet.
ANGELA DAVIS

Body Female Planet Women Rights
The idea of freedom is inspiring. But what does it mean? If you are free in a political sense but have no food, what’s that? The freedom to starve?
ANGELA DAVIS

Food Freedom Ideas Politics Sense Starve
If we do not know how to meaningfully talk about racism, our actions will move in misleading directions.
ANGELA DAVIS

Action Black Lives Matter Direction Mislead Racism
It is essential to resist the depiction of history as the work of heroic individuals.
ANGELA DAVIS

Essential History Individual Work
Imprisonment has become the response of first resort to far too many of our social problems.
ANGELA DAVIS

Prison Problem Response Social
Feminism involves so much more than gender equality and it involves so much more than gender.
ANGELA DAVIS

Equality Feminism Gender Involvement
Poor people, people of color – especially are much more likely to be found in prison than in institutions of higher education.
ANGELA DAVIS

Color Education Institution People Poor Prison Racism
As a black woman, my politics and political affiliation are bound up with and flow from participation in my people’s struggle for liberation, and with the fight of oppressed people all over the world against American imperialism.
ANGELA DAVIS

Country Participation People Politics Racism Struggle World
I’m suggesting that we abolish the social function of prisons.
ANGELA DAVIS

Abolish Function Prison Social Suggestion
Progressive art can assist people to learn what’s at work in the society in which they live.
ANGELA DAVIS

Art Assistance Live People Progress Work
Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary’s life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime.
ANGELA DAVIS

Commitment Life Lifetime Onself Revolution Serious Struggle
We are never assured of justice without a fight.
ANGELA DAVIS

Assure Fight Justice

In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.

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In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.

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Popular Authors

More Angela Davis Quotes