Quotes About Activism

A poet's work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.

We have this attitude in America of, 'Someone else is going to fix the problem.' That's what the majority of Americans have. Or, 'I'm just going to go online and sign this petition, and that will take care of it.' That's doesn't do it.

When it comes to fighting for citizenship that many people take for granted, there isn't anyone I would not talk to. When it comes to immigration, there isn't any question I will not answer.

I feel really privileged that I've been able to be an activist and a musician for over 20 years now, and I've always been able to say whatever I want. I think that's something we Americans really take for granted, but it's a big deal, and it's not something most people in the world are able to do.

Boycotts are not something to be taken lightly.

If Rosa Parks had taken a poll before she sat down in the bus in Montgomery, she'd still be standing.

Our democracy is not something to be taken for granted. You have to fight for it. You have to commit yourself to working for it - for the long haul.

We are living in a time in which movies such as 'Super Size Me' and 'An Inconvenient Truth' have made box-office history, and books such as 'No Logo' and my own, 'The Silent Takeover,' are bestsellers.

It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause.

I really believe in the environmental movement right now - it only takes a little effort to make a big difference.

It takes more than a hashtag to change the world.

If you believe in justice, if you believe in democracy, if you believe in people's rights, if you believe in the harmony of all humankind - then you have no choice but to back Fidel Castro as long as it takes!

The women's movement is taking a different form right now, and it is because it has been so effective and so successful that there's a huge counter movement to try to stop it, to try to divide women from one another, to try to almost foment divisiveness.

It's about cultural forums and movements and collectives of people taking a stand. That's all activism is.

So whether that's taking a bunch of people from Chicago down to Standing Rock or being in Flint, Michigan, or being in Palestine or Baton Rouge after Alton Sterling's killing, I've been trying to, just as a man, be present and stand with the struggling and oppressed people around the world.

Citizen activists look in the mirror, see what they're really good at and then apply their talents to solving social problems. It's skills-based volunteering.

I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the extremists, especially the Taliban.

On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of 'I am Malala'. They did not say 'I am Taliban.'

My love is political. My body is political. I talk even when I don't speak.

Even when we talked about child labor, we were frowned upon. But then you know that you have to speak the truth irrespective of the repercussions.

When I was 16 or 17, I saw Lenny Bruce being taken to jail. They took him off stage because he talked about race.

We've always been huge fans of the Dixie Chicks. They talked about subject matter that people didn't necessarily want to talk about and made people pay attention to issues.

Muhammad Ali is my hero. Yes, he was the best boxer in the world, but he also put himself on the line. He talked when black Americans had to be quiet.

Some of us have been thinking and talking too long without doing anything. Poems are perfect; picketing, sometimes, is better.