Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing.
Interpretation
We often have to fight for change in challenging circumstances rather than ideal ones.
Audre Lorde highlights the reality that while we may sometimes have the privilege to choose our battles and the conditions in which we fight for change, more often than not, we must confront struggles within the constraints of our current situations. This reflection emphasizes resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a motivational speech addressing social justice activists.
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 not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
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.
Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.
Gender equality will only be reached if we are able to empower women.
We need an energy revolution by breaking our dependence on fossil fuels, polluting fuels... I am very, very confident our small state will lead this. We will be noticed by the country and the world.
Expect change. Analyze the landscape. Take the opportunities. Stop being the chess piece; become the player. It's your move.
Cravings are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier.
Unlike earlier black-power movements that tried to fight or segregate for self-preservation, Black Lives Matter aligns with the dead, continues the mourning, and refuses the forgetting in front of all of us.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.