Jesse Jackson Quotes

Only force would produce social change.

I have always believed that on important issues, the leaders must lead. Where the leaders fail to lead, and people are really concerned about it, the people will take the lead and make the leaders follow.

I think voting is the lowest form of political action that you can do. A lot of times, it keeps people from doing stronger things.

What matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but "who is sitting in" - and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change.

Ours is a country where anything can be accomplished if enough people get angry... because, in America, we act on our collective anger.

Activism could be defined as activities engaged in by individuals to change there of others situation.

Social change comes through people.

Progressive change in this country has never come from above.

Government doesn’t always work the way its supposed to. Sometimes you have to use brute force, bring people together …

Democracy comes alive not when government does anything, because government cannot be depended on to rectify serious injustices. It comes alive when people organize and do something about it.

Somehow, the guys in power have to be reached by counter-power, or through a change in their hearts and minds, or change will not come.

You cannot do anything without rousing the masses to action.

Progressive, radical, or even revolutionary change has always come from below.

Together, together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America, and that revolution, our revolution, continues!

I am one who believes in the power of the people. I am inspired when I see people hit the streets, who challenge their elected officials, and are willing to stand up and fight. I encourage it.

People may recognize me as some sort of superhero, but it's different. Spider-Man and all these other superheroes, they get superpowers and do what they want to save the city. If we need to save Hong Kong, we can't rely on superpowers, we can just rely on the people.

I am mindful that the goal of protest is not more protest, but the goal of protest is change.

I think we're at a time where people just want to join together and cause change. People don't want to live like this any more.

Being politically active is "more about doing things, not just standing for some platform or being involved in some political party."

If democracy were to be given any meaning, if it were to go beyond the limits of capitalism and nationalism, this would not come, if history were any guide, from the top. It would come through citizen's movements, educating, organizing, agitating, striking, boycotting, demonstrating, threatening those in power with disruption of the stability they needed.

The Black Lives Matter movement, the various Occupy movements in Spain and the rest of Europe, in this country, and elsewhere serve as an example of what can be done, and how strong the voices for positive change and truly democratic progress can be.

There is no power above people power.

We need to find a way to empower citizens to make governments take notice.

Activists are generally doers - rather than watching television and thinking about the world they will put there energies into doing something 'active' to change the (political) situation.

Nothing counts but pressure, pressure, more pressure, and still more pressure through broad organized aggressive mass action.