I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
Interpretation
True freedom is linked to the freedom of all, regardless of their circumstances.
Audre Lorde emphasizes the interconnectedness of liberation and justice in this quote. She asserts that no one can claim to be truly free if others are still oppressed, suggesting that our moral responsibility extends beyond our personal circumstances and calls for solidarity in the fight against injustice.
In practice
During a feminist rally, this quote can inspire unity among all advocates for women's rights.
The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
There's always someone asking you to underline one piece of yourself - whether it's Black, woman, mother, dyke, teacher, etc. - because that's the piece that they need to key in to. They want to dismiss everything else.
The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.
Public opinion is always more tyrannical towards those who obviously fear it than towards those who feel indifferent to it.
Few are open to conviction, but the majority of men are open to persuasion
Some of the comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America.
Fable is more historical than fact, because fact tells us about one man and fable tells us about a million men.
The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.
A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him.
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