Opal Tometi Quotes

I don't want young people to think they can't make a difference because they don't have money.

An activist is one who is actively involved in creating community, whether that is locally in their neighborhood or internationally. It is an admirable quality.

There's no shortage of great young activists.

It's really important to be active in your community, whatever community that is... find allies and find people who you relate to and who make you stronger as a group.

There's nothing quite as powerful as people feeling they can have impact and make a difference. When you've got that going for you, I think it's a very powerful way to implement change.

One of the things that defines a TEDster is you've taken your passion, and you've turned it into stewardship. You actually put action to the issues you care about.

I'm a civic busybody and I've been blessed with an active career.

Every time I attend a We Day event, I learn something new, and I always feel way more perspective not just for the world I live in, but also the world that's happening around me.

For me, the passions and issues I care so much about are ones that lend themselves to work whether you're in government or outside of government.

Public service and community organizing and movement building is such a part of my DNA that it's really hard to separate it.

There is nothing that says you can't be active and love your community and fight for your community and still do your job.

Every one of us has the ability to raise awareness, volunteer, educate our friends and family, and give back to our communities.

It's about being a voice in the community. There's so many ways to be a voice, and that's what I'm figuring out.

Few cities have more skilled, experienced organizers and activists and grassroots organizations than St. Louis and Philadelphia.

I am a basic social activist with small-business experience, and you go where you need to go.

I was very engaged in my communities throughout college, but I never thought of it as political.

You can be a responsible member of the community besides enriching from it.

Social actions means that you find an issue in your community, and you create an initiative to solve that issue or to help people.

Service learning connects classroom studies to real-world issues, with hands-on activities and problem solving. Youth can study biology and ecology by testing the water in their own community; or learn about statistics, calculating the food supply and usage at the local food bank.

Find an issue that's important to you, and be as curious and close to it as possible.

I feel that it's my duty to persuade more people to take part in relevant causes.

Keeping young people out of community work sponsored by faith groups means an entire generation won't be as well-equipped to think and believe for themselves.

Being a voice for my community is something that I don't take lightly.

Do you care about climate justice? Are you about women's rights and women's reproductive rights? Do you care about civil liberties and the Voting Rights Act? There are so many opportunities for people to go back and be inspired and plug into their own community.

My mother informed me that the way to be a change agent to create change, the first line of defense, or however you want to phrase that, is politics and government.