Grace Lee Boggs Quotes

No fundamental social change occurs merely because government acts. It's because civil society, the conscience of a country, begins to rise up and demand - demand - demand change.

The only way you can sustain a permanent change is to create a new way of thinking, acting, and being.

For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.

The world is not going to be saved by legislation.

Personal, inner change without a change in circumstances and structures is an idealist illusion, as though man were only a soul and not a body as well.

Revolution comes when human beings set out to correct decadent institutions.

It is rarely the quick fix that goes the farthest. So don't get tempted by political cycles and the lure of electoral wins.

A reform is a correction of abuses; a revolution is a transfer of power.

Design, if it is to be ecologically responsible and socially responsive, must be revolutionary and radical.

There is no silver bullet. I know people in Washington want grand solutions for everything.

The people in power will not disappear voluntarily, giving flowers to the cops just isn't going to work. This thinking is fostered by the establishment; they like nothing better than love and nonviolence.

Great institutions can only be reformed by stealth or by revolution.

This is only a preliminary step toward a similar revolution everywhere.

If you get to a point where the existing institutions will not bend to the popular will, you have to eliminate the institutions.

We need to figure out how to merge political progress with actual progress.

While awareness-building is a crucial first step, cohesive efforts are needed to translate this into real-world change.

I believe activism is the true source of change in the world. Pushing to change social structures in communities that you are a part of is critical for making real lasting change.

You can't change the world through the parliamentary system.

Sometimes it requires national impetus to deliver real change.

As we come to know the seriousness of the situation, the war, the racism, the poverty in our world, we come to realize that things will not be changed simply by words or demonstrations. Rather, it's a question of living one's life in a drastically different way.

Until we start thinking in terms of revolution instead of compromise the Church will continue to pat itself on the back with token steps of renewal.

If a government is to do great new things, it will need more support. If a government is to change the world, it will need mass support. This is one of the discoveries of modern government.

The role that theater has placed in enhancing consciousness and moving systems ahead. I think of what South African theater meant for the apartheid movement, for example. I think of what music has meant for so many social movements across time.

I think that it's not enough to do the little Band-Aid things of having celebrities come and read to children. Not that we don't need to read to children, but we don't need to just do it one time and feel good about it. I think we need to think long range about poor people and their relationship to libraries.

I think people look at revolution too much in terms of power. I think revolution has to be seen more anthropologically, in terms of transitions from one mode of life to another.