Ander Crenshaw Quotes

Real, sustainable community change requires the initiative and engagement of community members.

I would argue that the objective evidence shows that big government is not a friend to African Americans.

Turmoil is everywhere, and the whole world is waiting for solutions to come from the top down. That's not how it works - community change from the bottom up makes a real difference.

The same way I'm not afraid of calling out systemic discrimination, I'm also not afraid of calling out inequality and the fact that inequality is growing in society and that affects everybody, regardless of race.

True enough, Trump is a formidable foe, and systemic inequalities and disparities are worsening under this administration. But they existed long before that. And I want to lead, organize, and legislate to disrupt these disparate outcomes.

We've come a long way from the days where there was state-enforced segregation. But we still have a way to go.

Since 1980, Republican shredding of the social safety net has disproportionately hit women, particularly women of colour.

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.

Inequality in the developed world fell for most of the 20th century; we can make it fall for most of the 21st century, too. But it won't happen without sustained pressure on politicians from electorates.

Silicon Valley today is populated mostly by people who would consider themselves winners of the traditional race. This causes the exclusion of the voices that are vital to a round, robust society. It's beyond gentrification.

When I can, I enjoy working with local people to involve everyone in the community in changing their environment.

Until we address the pervasive structural and interpersonal threats facing communities of color, we will remain unequipped to make equity a reality.

Chicago, I feel, is a microcosm for the segregated, violent environment that is America. I try to not only speak about these things in music, but also try to address these things in real life tangibly with action.

The most powerful thing we can do is get involved locally. Help our local community and become community activists in our own smaller circle.

Poverty is rooted in injustice.

It's true that not every day a little black girl in a low-income family from a segregated steel town makes the runoff to be the mayor of the third-largest city in America.

I've done community organizing my whole life and I think to myself, as an organizer, we don't wait for people to come to us and say, 'Help us organize something.' We go out into the community, and we bring the skills to a group of people to organize themselves.

It's incredibly important to understand history... when it comes to inequality.

America certainly is a great country with plenty of freedoms, but there are a lot of systemic issues that need to change.

Baltimore is a city of possibility, and we've got to challenge the traditional pathways of politics and politicians who lay those paths.

I think the black community has a lot to work on internally with what they deem successful.

As I have always said, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.

We need to address issues our people think about and talk about. Because there is a feeling that Europe elites are addressing different issues. Not the ones that people care about.

I used to be obsessed with race. I'm more obsessed with class now.

Alleviating suffering of the most marginalized communities must begin with assessing the needs of entire communities and allowing the most marginalized to lead the strategy. My belief is those closest to the pain are closest to the solution.