34 Powerful Activism Quotes

In a rapidly changing world, the power of words can inspire, motivate, and ignite lasting change. Activism has always relied heavily on the spoken and written word to capture the essence of a movement and galvanize individuals into action. Whether it's fighting for equality, environmental justice, or other critical social issues, these words often serve as the rallying cries that drive collective efforts toward a better future. In this curated collection, we bring you 34 powerful activism quotes that have the ability to not only provoke thought but also to empower and energize the advocate in each of us. As you explore these quotations, may they serve as a beacon of hope and a reminder of the impact that determined voices can have in shaping the world.

1. “We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” - Malcolm X

2. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

3. “One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.” - Kurt Vonnegut

4. “War...is ugly and brutalizing, and the nobility is in doing it without becoming ugly and brutalizing.” - Dana Kramer-Rolls

5. “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

6. “We Americans are interested only in the consumption of our products. We have no interest in how they are produced, or what happens to them once we discard them, once we throw them away.” - M. T. Anderson

7. “It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” - Samuel Adams

8. “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law” - Martin Luther King Jr.

9. “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.” - Mahatma Gandhi

10. “The 1970s-80s social movement called U.S. third world feminism functioned as a central locus of possibility, an insurgent social movement that shattered the construction of any one ideology as the single most correct site where truth can be represented. Indeed, without making this kind of metamove, any 'liberation' or social movement eventually becomes destined to repeat the oppressive authoritarianism from which it is attempting to free itself, and become trapped inside a drive for truth that ends only in producing its own brand of dominations. What U.S. third world feminism thus demanded was a new subjectivity, a political revision that denied any one ideology as the final answer, while instead positing a tactical subjectivity with the capactiy to de- and recenter, given the forms of power to be moved. These dynamics are what were required in the shift from enacting a hegemonic oppositional theory and practice to engaging in the differential form of social movement, as performed by U.S. feminists of color during the post-World War II period of great social transformation. p. 58-59. ” - Chela Sandoval

11. “If you behaved nicely, the communists wouldn't exist.” - Jenny Holzer

12. “People would rather believe than know.” - Edward O. Wilson

13. “No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.” - Barbara Ehrenreich

14. “A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.” - Barack Obama

15. “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” - Kurt Cobain

16. “It is important for women to do something about what they see.” - Roma Tearne

17. “The necessity of reform mustn’t be allowed to become a form of blackmail serving to limit, reduce, or halt the exercise of criticism. Under no circumstances should one pay attention to those who tell one: “Don’t criticize, since you’re not capable of carrying out a reform.” That’s ministerial cabinet talk. Critique doesn’t have to be the premise of a deduction that concludes, “this, then, is what needs to be done.” It should be an instrument for those for who fight, those who resist and refuse what is. Its use should be in processes of conflict and confrontation, essays in refusal. It doesn’t have to lay down the law for the law. It isn’t a stage in a programming. It is a challenge directed to what is.” - Michel Foucault

18. “Why do I always listen to your insane plans? Why aren't we at home watching TV like everyone else? What possible difference will any of this make?” - Shaun Tan

19. “‎God remains silent so that men and women may speak, protest, and struggle. God remains silent so that people may really become people. When God is silent and men and women cry, God cries in solidarity with them but doesn't intervene. God waits for the shouts of protest.” - Elsa Tamez

20. “If you want government to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal. If you want government to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative. If you want government to intervene everywhere, you’re a moderate. If you don’t want government to intervene anywhere, you’re an extremist.” - Joseph Sobran

21. “There is absolutely no greater high than challenging the power structure as a nobody, giving it your all, and winning!” - Abbie Hoffman

22. “What Friedan gave to the world was, "the problem that has no name." She not only named it but dissected it. The advances of science, the development of labor-saving appliances, the development of the suburbs: all had come together to offer women in the 1950s a life their mothers had scarcely dreamed of, free from rampant disease, onerous drudgery, noxious city streets. But the green lawns and big corner lots were isolating, the housework seemed to expand to fill the time available, and polio and smallpox were replaced by depression and alcoholism. All that was covered up in a kitchen conspiracy of denial...[i]nstead the problem was with the mystique of waxed floors and perfectly applied lipstick.” - Betty Friedan

23. “[W]hat possible purpose does this lashing-out serve? Will activists be shamed into recovering their previous enthusiasm? Will Republicans stop their vicious attacks because Obama is lashing out to his left? It was pure self-indulgence; even if he feels aggrieved, he has to judge his words by their usefulness, not by his desire to vent. This isn't about him.” - Paul Krugman

24. “Because it’s no longer enough to be a decent person. It’s no longer enough to shake our heads and make concerned grimaces at the news. True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself.” - Joss Whedon

25. “Never explain, never retract, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl.” - Nellie McClung

26. “Activism begins with you, Democracy begins with you, get out there, get active! Tag, you're it” - Thom Hartmann

27. “Historical determinism is a recipe for political quietism.” - Terry Eagleton

28. “If the apostles reminded even Paul himself to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10), then surely the rest of us need such a reminder.” - Russell D. Moore

29. “Obviously these are some exceptional young people, but what they have in common is that they were ordinary people who cared. They wanted to act, to do something, to make life better for other people—and they have.” - Morgan Carroll

30. “Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. The driving force of modern industrial civilization has been individual material gain, which is accepted as legitimate, even praiseworthy, on the grounds that private vices yield public benefits in the classic formulation.Now, it's long been understood very well that a society that is based on this principle will destroy itself in time. It can only persist with whatever suffering and injustice it entails as long as it's possible to pretend that the destructive forces that humans create are limited: that the world is an infinite resource, and that the world is an infinite garbage-can. At this stage of history, either one of two things is possible: either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community-interests, guided by values of solidarity and sympathy and concern for others; or, alternatively, there will be no destiny for anyone to control.As long as some specialized class is in a position of authority, it is going to set policy in the special interests that it serves. But the conditions of survival, let alone justice, require rational social planning in the interests of the community as a whole and, by now, that means the global community. The question is whether privileged elites should dominate mass-communication, and should use this power as they tell us they must, namely, to impose necessary illusions, manipulate and deceive the stupid majority, and remove them from the public arena. The question, in brief, is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved or threats to be avoided. In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than values to be treasured, they may well be essential to survival.” - Noam Chomsky

31. “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” - Frederick Douglass

32. “This isn't about keeping mountains looking pretty. Ending mountaintop removal is about keeping humanity alive.” - Rivera Sun

33. “Although the principle of equality has always been self-evident, it has never been self-executing.” - Barack Obama

34. “If my activism, however well-motivated, drives out love, then I have misunderstood Jesus’ gospel. I am stuck with law, not the gospel of grace.” - Philip Yancey