Bayard Rustin Quotes

My experiences growing up in both a Chinese American household and the Catholic Church define much of who I am.

If everyone howled at every injustice, every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness, then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.

Islam does not command us to fight against other religions but against oppression and poverty.

As I got more into gay rights, I got more into equal pay, and you just see that it's all connected. You can't really speak out on one thing and not another without it not being the full picture.

I don't get this shitty attitude that only gays should care about gay issues and only women should care about women's issues.

I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay.

Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian. Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black. There is no hierarchy of oppression.

There are a lot of people that form movements around particular commitments, like gay rights. It is important, but it does not link easily to, say, economic rights, and it often looks like it's opposed to them. The attempt to bring these together has yet to be done in a truly effective way, and I think it can be.

I grew up in a family of people who wanted to make a difference in the world.

I never thought about myself as an activist when we were coming along. I love the people I love. I didn't care whether they could be a Democrat, Republican, communist... anything but a racist.

I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition.

I never had a father, really. My great-grandmother raised me. But I was in this country where I got help from people that were not of my same color. So when I come out of the box, I don't come out of the box as racial. I look for good people, and people that will be like-minded and help me try to do good for other human beings.

I have started using the expression 'compassionate activism': It's about keeping my heart open so that I can understand the point of view of the other person.

I've heard people say, 'Why do you have to do a show that's called 'Black Girls Rock'?' or 'Why is there an expression called 'black girl magic'?' You know, when you say, 'Save the dolphins,' you don't mean, 'I don't like whales.' That's just not the way it works!

We'd better not speak against misogyny if, in the same breath, we're not also speaking against transphobia and homophobia and racism and classism and poverty. This is one fight. It always has been.

If we created a society based on love, it would be a society without exploitation.

You and I must demonstrate love to our gay neighbors, of course, remembering that we are ultimately engaged in spiritual warfare. But we should boldly stand up when our rights as citizens and the demands of our conscience are threatened.

Black girl stories aren't just for black girls: they're for everybody.

I do wonder if it's my responsibility to spread a message of environmental awareness or political awareness or just, like, don't be racist or whatever, but I don't want to be the person who's like, 'Everyone be vegan forever!'

What I love so much about drag is that it has politics at its very core; drag performers aren't afraid to talk about politics in our community and the changes we need to see systemically in society.

My grandfather, my grandmother especially, I have a whole family of activists, they've always told me to stand up for what I believe in.

I think our work as movement leaders isn't just about our own visibility but rather how do we make the whole visible. How do we not just fight for our individual selves but fight for everybody?

Growing up, my dad was the ultimate person for open-mindedness.

While I am furious about injustice, I do what I do, fighting against it, out of a place of love.

I have a wonderful, diverse, and young staff at the AAPF who pretty much work around the clock trying to figure out how we promote the idea that social justice requires us to be intersectional in our thinking and in our scope of vision.