Quotes About Activism

It's ludicrous that my friends in California aren't able to legally get married. It's a civil rights issue. In 20 years we're going to look back at tapes of these antigay people saying ridiculous things on the news and it's going to sound as antiquated as the newsreels of horrible racists from the '50s.

Our target is not negotiations, it is the end of the apartheid system. There can be no compromise about that.

Anyone who's speaking up about anything becomes a target.

I will not walk away from the people and communities whom I love deeply. I will continue to raise my voice for justice and equality for all, organize communities who want to defend the rights of black people, stand against policies that target and marginalize Muslims, and advocate for health care for all people.

In a weird way, I'm a good target for the government, because I can push back.

We live in a world where black people are targeted for death and destruction, and we should not be surprised when moments such as these occur - in fact, Charlottesville confirms the violence that black people endure every day.

People often ask me why I continue to speak out if it's hurting my family. But that's exactly why I speak out. The people Erdogan is targeting are my family, my friends, my neighbors, my classmates. I need to speak out, or my country will suffer in silence.

Protest is best used when it's part of a strategy that involves escalating tactics that build pressure on targets.

The government targets 'Anonymous' for the same reason it targets al-Qaida - because they're the enemy.

Our task, of course, is to transmute the anger that is affliction into the anger that is determination to bring about change. I think, in fact, that one could give that as a definition of revolution.

As a civil society, our task is to pressure governments into democratic changes.

HIV/AIDS isn't a top priority for any of the three major LGBT groups in the U.S.: not the HRC, or the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), or the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) - who together are somewhat pejoratively known as 'Gay Inc.'

I have an AIDS ribbon tattooed on my arm.

The French revolution taught us the rights of man.

The civil rights and antiwar movements taught Americans to question authority.

The feminists taught us about consciousness-raising.

Now on a personal level with things like the California Tax Commission... I really think if people started banding together and saying no to this it could snowball and that could really help.

The taxpayer group in every state is always - always referred to as nuts.

I understand the outrage because it seems the list continues to grow: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. The injustices continue to mount and nothing seems to be changing.

I feel like I've built big enough platform and still building my platform for us to get justice for Breonna Taylor.

Honoring George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown Jr., and too many other Black people taken from our communities by state violence is at the heart of why we legislate in defense of Black lives - and it's why we lead with an agenda rooted in saving lives.

We can stop being so taken aback by Black Lives Matter. If we didn't need to be reminded, there would be justice for Breonna Taylor, a Kentuckian like me, and countless others.

From tea parties to the election in Massachusetts, we are witnessing the single greatest political pushback in American history.

There are Tea Parties, and I would say plural, in California.