Ilhan Omar Quotes

The challenge facing America in the next century will be the shaping, at long last, of a truly common public culture, one responsive to the long silenced cultures of color.

It's important for youth, black youths particularly, to be able to fill in the blanks of themselves so they can know completely who they are, but also all the country to understand what this means: what the civil rights movement does to us as people. It is part of the journey that we must be on in order to become fully evolved human beings.

Minority ethnic issues need to be mainstream issues.

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!

Black people come in so many different bodies, genders, and sexualities, so it's important that we're conscious of that so we can fight for a world that embraces and uplifts black people of every kind. Our voices are powerful and have the ability to make change.

African-Americans and black immigrants share a resilience and a determination for a better life.

Asian-Americans are fighting for space and fighting for visibility and for acceptance.

I am a black woman, and my experiences would not be what they are if I wasn't. I'm so happy to share those experiences for other people to be able to learn from them.

I am not a woman on Monday, an immigrant on Tuesday, a worker on Wednesday, and a mom on Thursday, I am all of those things all of the time, and I am going to fight for all of those things all of the time.

One of the greatest gifts of Black feminism to ourselves has been to make it a little easier simply to be Black and female.

Oh, happy day when the enemies of ascendancy have got to confess that people of color rock.

I don't want to be a race-transcending leader. I want to be deeply understood as a man, as African- American, as a Christian, all that I am.

Feminism is rooted in racial rights and gender rights, and all of those things intersect, and to say that that's not something you can stand behind - it confuses me. I think it's a really great word.

It is feasible for someone who comes from a privileged background to understand the privilege they have had and to use the formal political arena in a way that would disperse power and engage with people in their own lives.

There's a lot of Americans, black and white, who think that we've arrived where we need to be and nothing else needs to be done and affirmative action needs to be dismantled.

Black people should have recognition for themselves and their backgrounds and their relationships with other people in the world and thus lose some of their alienation. This museum has certainly stood for that in this town.

Black Power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.

The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.

I can't explain exactly why it lives within me for so long and passionately. But race matters to me; racial equality matters to me, as does gender. There is something about these kinds of social injustices that go to the deep of me.

Don't let anyone call you a minority if you're black or Hispanic or belong to some other ethnic group. You're not less than anybody else.

I feel like any single woman of color who's been onstage has a Shakespeare monologue in her back pocket, and a monologue from 'For Colored Girls.' It's just part of what you should have, as a woman of color.

I've never excluded myself because of color. It's never been part of the radar, when I look at anything I do. The majority of the roles that I've played have had very little to do with being black. It doesn't matter what color you are.

If you really want change, you really want it to be inclusive, where everyone's included, otherwise you're just going to have more of the same in the future.

One needs to place the spotlight more on vulnerable groups of the population such as minorities, indigenous populations, migrants, and historically disadvantaged communities. Placing the spotlight on them brings their plight to the fore and enables the forging of a national consensus to act for their relief and protection.

If a Black American may not enter this theater, this black Egyptian will not enter.