Running As a Woman, Choice, Patricia Schroeder

“When people ask me why I am running as a woman, I always answer, 'What choice do I have?'” - Patricia Schroeder, veteran Colorado congresswoman who coined the term “Teflon-coated presidency,” also known as Mom.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 54.

Dangerous, Sincere Ignorance, Conscientious Stupidity, Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

From http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/31-martin-luther-king-jr-quotes-to-inspire-greatness-in-you.html

This is Not a Time, Throw Up Our Hands, Roll Up Our Sleeves, Organize, Mobilize, Former Vice President Kamala Harris

“This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, mobilize and stay engaged for the sake of freedom, justice and the future that we all know we can build together.” - Former Vice President Kamala Harris, Nov. 6, 2024

Found in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2025, page 1.

Empathy, Radical, Human Emotions, Gloria Steinem

“Empathy is the most radical of human emotions.” - 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 96.

Knowledge, Wisdom, Sandra Caey

"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” - Sandra Carey

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 134.

One Damn Thing,

“It is not true that life is one damn thing after another – it's one damn thing over and over.” - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 65.

One Damn Thing, Over and Over, Enda St. Vincent Millay

“It is not true that life is one damn thing after another – it's one damn thing over and over.” - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 65.

Solution to End All Wars, Directions, Erma Bombeck

“I have just come up with a wonderful solution to end all wars – let men give directions on how to get there.” - Erma Bombeck

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 127.

Adults, Decent, Hard-Working, Elected, Lily Tomlin

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.” - Lily Tomlin

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 92.

Racism, Major Issue, Habit, Maya Angelou

“Racism is still a major issue because it is a habit.” - Maya Angelou, in Conversations with Maya Angelou (1989)

Found in Contemporary Quotations in Black, compiled and edited by Anita King, page 10.

Persecuted, Race, Religion, Political Views, Center of the Universe, Elie Wiesel

"Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe." - Elie Wiesel

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/eliewiesel451207.html.

In Germany, Communists, Jews, Catholics, Speak Up, Martin Niemoller

"In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." - Martin Niemoller, 1945 (WW1 war hero & U Boat Captain, WW2 pastor who spent 7 years in Nazi prisons).

This is one variant of the quote by Martin Niemoller. Variations include trade unionists, social democrats, and others. We are now observing orders in the U.S. aimed at Muslims, with the false idea that all Muslims are terrorists - an idea as wrong as the idea that "all blacks are bad", "all blonds are dumb", "all ____ are _____."

You can view this and some of the variants at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Niemöller, or Google Martin Niemoller for more links.

Most Important Things, Hardest to Say, Stephen King

“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.” ― Stephen King

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3389.Stephen_King.

Constitution, I the President, We the People, Gloria Steinem

“The Constitution does not begin with 'I, the president.' It begins with 'We, the people.'” - 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 144.

Heard the Word 'Wait', Never, Martin Luther King Jr.

“For years now I have heard the word 'Wait!' It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'”- Martin Luther King Jr.

From The Sun, June 2018, pg.48, “Sunbeams”.

Civil Disabedience, Civil Obedience, Problem, Howard Zinn

“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.” ― Howard Zinn

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1899.Howard_Zinn.

Cautious Careful People, Reputations, Susan B. Anthony

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations...can never effect a reform.” - Susan B. Anthony

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 11.

Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Interdependence, Bell Abzug

“First we need a Declaration of Independence, then we need a Declaration of Interdependence.” - Bella Abzug

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.

Marched, Human Rights, Social Justice, Dolores Huerta

"We've already marched many thousands of miles in our struggle for human rights and social justice, and tomorrow we march again. We must do this. We can do this. Si se puede!" - Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder, United Farm Workers, in the Special Elections 2016 issue of Ms. Magazine.

Across Generations, Much to Learn, Teach, Gloria Steinem

“We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach.” - 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 19.

Not Be Judged, Character, Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Found at BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_297516.

Really in Earnest, World's Estimation, Susan B. Anthony

“Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation.” - Susan B. Anthony, the formidable founding mother of 19th-century American feminism.

Found in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, complied by Autumn Stephens, page 66.

Be a Lady, Independent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Found on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/19/politics/best-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-trnd/index.html.

Science, Cure, Apathy, Helen Keller

“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.” - Helen Keller

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 13.

Mifepristone, Undue Burden, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

“Maintaining the FDA's in-person requirements for mifepristone during the pandemic not only treats abortion exceptionally, it imposes an unnecessary, irrational and unjustifiable undue burden on women seeking to exercise their right to choose. One can only hope that the Government will reconsider and exhibit great care and empathy for women.” - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissenting to the majority's ruling that the Food and Drug Administration may prevent women from receiving abortion pills by mail.

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

Second Favorite Household Chore, Faint, Erma Bombeck

“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.” - Erma Bombeck

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 52.

Small Acts, Transform the World, Howard Zinn

“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” ― Howard Zinn

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1899.Howard_Zinn.

Time to Read, Write, Stephen King

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ― Stephen King

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3389.Stephen_King.

Say Anything Good, Sit Right Here, Alice Roosevelt Longsworth

“If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.” - Alice Roosevelt Longsworth

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 47.

Not Despair, Not be Overwhelmed, Fight, Kamala Harris

“We must not despair. We must not be overwhelmed or throw up our hands. It is time to roll up our sleeves and fight for who we are.” - Sen.-Elect Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)

From Ms. Magazine special election issue, Fall, 2016 page 11.

Note: Sen. Kamal Harris was the Senator-Elect when the above quote was published in Ms. Magazine; she is now Senator from California.

Marriage, Luxury, Not a Necessity, Susan B. Anthony

"Marriage, to women as to men, must be a luxury, not a necessity; an incident of life, not all of it." - Susan B. Anthony

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/susan_b_anthony_765253.

We are the Women, We are Proud, Gloria Steinem

“We are the women our parents warned us against – and we are proud.” - 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 42.

Stand Before God, Used Everything, Erma Bombeck

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'” - Erma Bombeck

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 3.