Sad Soul, Germ, John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

“A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/585.John_Steinbeck.

Suffering, Truth, Cornel West

“You must let suffering speak, if you want to hear the truth.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Women, Vote, Self Interest, Michelle Williams

“Women...when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self interest. It’s what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. But don’t forget that we are the largest voting body in this country. Let’s make it look more like us.” - Actor Michelle Williams, accepting a Golden Globe for her starring role in Fosse/Verdon with an impassioned speech in support of abortion rights.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2020, page 6.

Censorship, Stupid, Shallow, Problem, Dwight Eisenhower

"Censorship, in my opinion, is a stupid and shallow way of approaching the solution to any problem. Though sometimes necessary, as witness a professional and technical secret that may have a bearing upon the welfare and very safety of this country, we should be very careful in the way we apply it, because in censorship always lurks the very great danger of working to the disadvantage of the American nation." - Dwight Eisehower, Associated Press luncheon, New York, New York, 4/24/50

Found in Eisenhower library at https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/quotes.

Ships, Distance, Wish, Zora Neale Hurston

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." - Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/zora_neale_hurston_399019.

Stands for Nothing, Fall for Anything, Malcolm X

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." - Malcolm X

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/malcolm_x_379121.

Equal Rights Amendment, Justice Antonin Scalia, Nancy Pelosi

“There are some who say the Equal Rights Amendment is not needed. To them, I quote the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who said, ‘Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It does not.’” - Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), speaking on the House floor in support of a joint resolution to remove the timeline on ERA ratification.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Spring 2021, page 6.

Worse Words, Cuss-Words, Tillie Olsen

“There are worse words than cuss-words, there are words that hurt.” ― Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/89863.Tillie_Olsen.

Strong Woman, Love, Indestructible, John Steinbeck

“I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.” ― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/585.John_Steinbeck.

Stood Up, Right Thing, Women, Children, State Sen. Katrina Shealy

“I stood up for the right thing. I stood up for women. I stood up for children. I stood up for South Carolina.” - State Sen. Katrina Shealy (R) after losing her reelction bid in June; she was one of three Republican “Sister Senators” who, along with two Democratic women, blocked a full abortion ban in South Carolina in 2023 – none of the three made it through their primaries.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2024, page 6.

Optimist, Prisoner of Hope, Cornel West

“I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Love, Hiding Place, Zora Neale Hurston

"Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place." - Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/zora_neale_hurston_106544.

Only Way, Protect My Own Rights, Rights of Others, Dwight Eisenhower

"I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others." - Dwight Eisenhower, Remarks at the United Negro College Fund luncheon, 5/19/53

Found in Eisenhower library at https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/quotes.

Voting, Most, Least, Gloria Steinem

“Voting isn't the most we can do, but it's the least.” - Gloria Steinem

Found in The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, by Gloria Steinem, page 21.

Mother, Noble Status, Florynce Kennedy

“Being a mother is a noble status, right? Right. So why does it change why you put 'unwed' or 'welfare' in front of it?” - Civil rights lawyer Florynce Kennedy, once lionized by the press as “Radicalism's Rudest Mouth” and as a “loud-mouthed middled-aged colored lady” by herself.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 193.

Justice and Accountability, Obligations, Demanding Accountability, Sisterhood, Jess Michaels, Liz Stein

“Know this: Justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations decades overdue. This moment began with [Jeffrey] Epstein’s crimes, but it’s going to be remembered for survivors demanding justice, demanding truth, demanding accountability, and we will not stop until survivor voices shape justice, transform culture and define the future.” – Jess Michaels, speaking at a September press converence alongside other Epstein survivors, some of whom shared stories of the sexual grooming and assault they suffered as teenagers and called for lawmakers to release more files from the federal investigation.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2025, page 6.

“We are initiated into a sisterhood. We’re in a sorority that none of us asked to join, but we all stand here today, stronger together, because our collective voice is powerful.” – Liz Stein, another survivor sex-trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, speaking at the same event outside the same event outside the U.S. Capitol, which was, notably, interrupted by a military flyover arranged by the Trump administration, honoring a Polish Pilot who died in a training exercise in Poland.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2025, page 6.

Poetry, Dream, Vision, Audre Lorde

"Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before." - Audre Lorde

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/audrelorde408960.html.

Screaming Fact, Repression, Strengthen, John Steinbeck

“And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.” ― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/585.John_Steinbeck.

Vote, Most Powerful Nonviolent Change Agent, John Lewis

“The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.” - The late Rep. John Lewis

Found on page 1, Ms. Magazine, Fall 2020.

Important, Official Power, Oppression, Dolores Huerta

“We know how important it is for women to take official power. The oppression of women takes so many forms, and the only way to overcome is by taking power.” - Activist Dolores Huerta, accepting the Young Elected Officials Network's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.

Found in Ms. Magazine, page 6, Spring 2019.

Lead, Hitting People, Assault, Dwight D. Eisenhower

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23920.Dwight_D_Eisenhower.

Blind With Patriotism, Wrong is Wrong, Malcolm X

"You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it." - Malcolm X

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/malcolm_x_390503.

Organize, Agitate, Educate, War Cry, Susan B. Anthony

"Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry." - Susan B. Anthony

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/susan_b_anthony_401742.

Being a Bitch, Hold On To, Stephen King

“Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman's got to hold on to.” ― Stephen King, Dolores Claiborne

Found on GoodReads. Read more here.

Assume, No Hope, Instinct for Freedom, Noam Chomsky

“If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, then there is a possibility that you can contribute to making a better world.” ― Noam Chomsky

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2476.Noam_Chomsky.

Too Angry, Keep Your Mouth Shut, Silent, Michelle Obama

“Don't ever, ever let anyone tell you that you're too angry, or that you 'should keep your mouth shut.' There will always be those who want to keep you silent, to have you be seen but not heard, or maybe they don't even want to see you at all. But those people don't know your story, and if you listen to them, then nothing will ever change.” - Former First Lady Michelle Obama, speaking to the graduating class of 2020.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2020 issue, page 6.

Values Its Privileges, Principles, Dwight Eisenhower

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." - Dwight Eisenower, Inaugural Address, 1/20/53

Found in Eisenhower library at https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/quotes.

Silent, Pain, Enjoyed It, Zora Neale Hurston

“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” ― Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Important Moments, Advertised Ones, Milestones, Susan B. Anthony

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these." - Susan B. Anthony, The Ghost in My Life

Found on Notable Quotes at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b.html.

Community, Liberation, Audre Lorde

“Without community, there is no liberation.” - Audre Lorde

Found in The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, by Gloria Steinem, page 43.