Assata Shakur Quotes - Page 3

When you go through all your life processing and abusing your hair so it will look like the hair of another race of people then you are making a statement and the statement is clear

It is the obligation of every person who claims to oppose oppression to resist the oppressor by every means at his or her disposal. Not to engage in physical resistance, armed resistance to oppression, is to serve the interests of the oppressor; no more, no less. There are no exceptions to the rule, no easy out.

I realized that I was connected to Africa. I wasn't just a Colored girl. I was part of a whole world that wanted a better life. I'm part of a majority and not a minority. My life has been a life of growth. If you're not growing, you're not going to understand real love. If you're not reaching out to help others then you're shrinking. My life has been active. I'm not a spectator

The U. S. is becoming more hostile to Black people and other people of color. Racism is running rampant and xenophobia is on the rise

People are tried and convicted in the newspapers and on television before they ever see a courtroom.

The methods of peaceful protests are not capable of being effective, because in reality most people pay little attention to things that are not abrasive.

A revolutionary woman can't have no reactionary man.

I couldn't see how we could seriously struggle without having a strong sense of collectivity, without being responsible FOR each other and TO each other.

Hip Hop can be a very effective way to reach young people and teach them about current political and social issues.

In the long run, the people are our only appeal. The only ones who can free us are ourselves.

To have one's race brutally treated for so many years, even after the end of slavery and segregation, people are going to rise up with violence to attain what they believe is rightfully theirs. The most important thing at this time is raising the awareness of everyone; people need to be educated everywhere about all aspects of racism and how it affects people still today.

Being a warrior and being a struggler has been forced on me by oppression, otherwise I would have been free to be so much more.

In my case, spirituality has been important to me because at periods in my life there's been very little else that I've had going. I've actually needed to call on, to feel the forces of good in this universe to be able to survive.

People think that in order for something to work, it has to be complicated, but a lot of times the opposite is true. We usually reach success by putting the simple truths that we know into practice.

We had to learn that we're beautiful. We had to relearn something forcefully taken from us. We had to learn about Black power. People have power if we unite. We learned the importance of coming together and being active

My energy just couldn’t stop dancing. I was caught up in the music of struggle, and i wanted to dance.

While big corporations make huge, tax-free profits, taxes for the everyday working person skyrocket. While politicians take free trips around the world, those same politicians cut back food stamps for the poor. While politicians increase their salaries, millions of people are being laid off. I do not understand a government so willing to spend millions of dollars on arms, to explore outer space, even the planet Jupiter, and at the same time close down day care centers and fire stations.

All you have to do is ask yourselves, who controls the government? And who are the victims of that control?

Some people spell "good" with two o's and some people spell it with one... and there shouldn't be a contradiction between that.

The government recognized immediately that Rap music has enormous revolutionary potential and politicians immediately came together to end it.

I think that the greatest betrayal that a revolutionary can participate in is to become like the people you are struggling against. To become like your persecutors. I think that is a betrayal and a sin.

That was one of the big problems in the [Black Panther] Party. Criticism and self-criticism were not encouraged, and the little that was given often wasn’t taken seriously. Constructive criticism and self-criticism are extremely important for any revolutionary organization. Without them, people tend to drown in their mistakes, not learn from them.

A woman’s place is in the struggle.

I think that one of the problems that exists in the United States and in many places in the world is that people don't believe that they can make a difference. So a lot of times we're defeated before we even start. We've become consumers of a world vision, of Kentucky Fried Chicken, of McDonalds.

The people who are running this planet are insane - they are literally destroying it. I don't know where they think they're gonna drink water, breathe air.