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Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo – obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.

Angela Davis

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
The campaign against the death penalty has been – while a powerful campaign, its participants have been those who attend all of the vigils, a relatively small number of people.
ANGELA DAVIS

Attempt Campaign Death Participation Penalty Powerful
We live in a society of an imposed forgetfulness, a society that depends on public amnesia
ANGELA DAVIS

Depend Live Public Society
Racism is a much more clandestine, much more hidden kind of phenomenon, but at the same time it’s perhaps far more terrible than it’s ever been.
ANGELA DAVIS

Hide Perhaps Phenomena Racism Terrible
In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.
ANGELA DAVIS

Enough Feminism Racism Society
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
Imprisonment has become the response of first resort to far too many of our social problems.
ANGELA DAVIS

Prison Problem Response Social
We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.
ANGELA DAVIS

Feminism Liberty Mind Society Talk
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
What this country needs is more unemployed politicians.
ANGELA DAVIS

Country Need Politics Unemployment
I’m suggesting that we abolish the social function of prisons.
ANGELA DAVIS

Abolish Function Prison Social Suggestion
Human beings cannot be willed and molded into non-existence.
ANGELA DAVIS

Existence Human Being Wisdom
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
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
The process of empowerment cannot be simplistically defined in accordance with our own particular class interests. We must learn to lift as we climb.
ANGELA DAVIS

Climb Interest Learning Particular Process Women Empowerment
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
It is in collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism.
ANGELA DAVIS

Finding Hope Optimism
You can’t criticize people for wanting to have a decent life or wanting to live decently.
ANGELA DAVIS

Criticism Decent Life Live People Want
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
Consent needs to be present in order for it not to be considered rape. “No” means No & guys need to understand that.
ANGELA DAVIS

Consent Consideration Feminism Guy Understand
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
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
Feminism insists on methods of thought and action that urge us to think about things together that appear to be separate, and to disaggregate things that appear to naturally belong together.
ANGELA DAVIS

Action Appearance Feminism Method Separate Togetherness Urge
Anyway I don’t think we can rely on governments, regardless of who is in power, to do the work that only mass movements can do.
ANGELA DAVIS

Government Movement Power Regard Thinking
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 are never assured of justice without a fight.
ANGELA DAVIS

Assure Fight Justice
The only weapons that make me dangerous are my mind, mouth and pride, which will surely educate you.
ANGELA DAVIS

Danger Education Mind Mouth Pride Weapon Women Power

Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo – obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.

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Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo – obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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