John Yarmuth Quotes

If you want to be a real human being - a real woman, a real man - you cannot tolerate things which put you to indignation, to outrage. You must stand up. I always say to people, 'Look around; look at what makes you unhappy, what makes you furious, and then engage yourself in some action.'

If I get incensed about some injustice, you can't make me - I will not just going to sit at my desk, at my computer all the time. I - I might want to march out on that.

I want every American to stand up for his rights, even if he has to sit down for them.

I can't afford to be quiet all the time. I learned that.

I'm going to fight for human rights, whether I do it silently behind the scenes or vocally so that I get locked up. I can't just sit back; it's not in my nature. I can't sit back and blindly ignore it, and I won't.

If people are not listening to you as individuals, it's always good to get together and make a stand for something.

Fighting injustice keeps you young.

I'm like a one-woman protest machine.

If the government fails to listen to your demands, then you will decide what is best for you.

I've learned how to measure what I say. Al Sharpton in 1986 was trying to be heard. I was a local guy and was like, 'Y'all are ignoring us.'

I refuse to be silenced.

Anybody intelligent enough to realize what America is, is not going to sit around and do nothing about it. They're going to be the same way that I am. They're going to be the same way our fans are. They're going to be pissed.

Writing is powerful. Whether it's a little girl hiding from the Nazis in an attic, or Amnesty International writing letters on behalf of political prisoners, the power of telling stories is usually what causes change.

I hope I don't have to buck the system. But if it requires bucking, I will do it.

When I see something messed up, I'm going to challenge it.

If you have an opportunity to use your voice you should use it.

The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence.

The only weapon I have is my microphone and my unmistakable faith as a militant for change, veritable change.”

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.

Speaking truth to power is never going to be easy.

At some point, Twitter hash tags are not enough. Eventually, you have to stand up.

People and systems count on our silence to keep us exactly where we are.... in a world that wants us to whisper, I choose to yell.

The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.

When I see something wrong, I speak up.

I think my mom exposed me to the concept of using your voice for anything you care about.