Minority Rights Quotes

“In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero, On the Republic / On the Laws

“Those who benefit from unearned privilege are too often quick to discount those who don't.”
― DaShanne Stokes

“Bigotry hurts the economy, so the next time you want to blame minorities for your problems, first take a look in the mirror.”
― DaShanne Stokes

“This is about Us, with a capital U; everybody who looks like us, feels like us, and is experiencing this pain with us.”
― Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give

“Inequality and poverty, unhealth and no wealth are hand in hand.
And if we are all born equal that should be true in all lands.
We cannot divide the world between poor and rich countries.
It's like saying the ones are good, the others are junkies.
That can only increase more prejudice, miseries and sorrow.
Turning the wheel today it will lead to a better tomorrow.”
― Ana Claudia Antunes, The Mysterious Murder of Marilyn Monroe

“Defeating fear of otherness means knowing who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish and leveraging that otherness to our benefit. Knowing I’d never be invited into smoke-filled rooms or to the golf course, I instead requested individual meetings with political colleagues where I asked questions and learned about their interests, creating a similar sense of camaraderie. In business, I take full advantage of opportunities afforded to minorities but then always offer to share my learning with other groups that have similar needs—expanding the circle rather than closing myself off. Like most who are underestimated, I have learned to over-perform and find soft but key ways to take credit. Because, ultimately, leadership and power require the confidence to effectively wield both.”
― Stacey Abrams, Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

“I confronted the expected stereotypes by knowing what they were and building an alternate narrative about myself.”
― Stacey Abrams, Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

“The reason diversity quotas or affirmative action initiatives exist is to open a door that might otherwise be shut. But opening that door just enough to let one person through and then letting it shut once more isn’t the progress we need.”
― Rohit Bhargava, Beyond Diversity

“Research shows that where you grew up, where you went to school, and even where you work currently can give you up to a 12 times advantage in gaining access to opportunity. Which is to say, if you weren't handed professional connections by your parents or your neighborhood or your boarding school alumni network, you need to build them on your own.”
― Lauren Wesley Wilson, What Do You Need?: How Women of Color Can Take Ownership of Their Careers to Accelerate Their Path to Success

“There is a reason why the waiting game won't serve your career. The truth is, not everyone at your company will have your best interests at heart, and not everyone will want you to get ahead. This could be for any number of reasons - they may see you as competition, they may mentor someone at your level who they want to help excel, they may simply not like you. Who knows their motivations, and frankly, who cares?”
― Lauren Wesley Wilson, What Do You Need?: How Women of Color Can Take Ownership of Their Careers to Accelerate Their Path to Success

“There is probably one thing, and one thing only, on which the leaders of all modern states agree; on which Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Mohammedans, and atheists agree; on which Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Communists, Liberals, and Conservatives agree; on which medical and scientific authorities throughout the world agree; and on which the views, as expressed through opinion polls and voting records, of the large majority of individuals in all civilized countries agree. That thing is the “scientific fact” that certain substances which people like to ingest or inject are “dangerous” both to those who use them and to others; and that the use of such substances constitutes “drug abuse” or “drug addiction”— a disease whose control and eradication are the duty of the combined forces of the medical profession and the state); However, there is little agreement—from people to people, country to country, even decade to decade—on which substances are acceptable and their use therefore considered a popular pastime, and which substances are unacceptable and their use therefore considered “drug abuse” and “drug addiction.” (Preface to Ceremonial Chemistry)”
― Thomas Stephen Szasz