Silence, Betrayal, Martin Luther King, Jr.

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

Farm Animals, Respect, Jane Goodall

“Farm animals are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined and, despite having been bred as domestic slaves, they are individual beings in their own right. As such, they deserve our respect. And our help. Who will plead for them if we are silent? Thousands of people who say they ‘love’ animals sit down once or twice a day to enjoy the flesh of creatures who have been treated so with little respect and kindness just to make more meat.” ― Jane Goodall

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/18163.Jane_Goodall.

Disallow, Medical Care, Torture, Zooey Zephyr

“If you disallow the use of medical care that is accepted by every major medical association … the only therapy left is either A) meaningless or B) conversion therapy, which is torture. If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture. And this body should be ashamed.” - Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D), the first openly transgender woman elected to the Legislature; after her forceful remaks concernings a bill (now law) that prohibits gender-affirming care for minors, she was banned from the House floor by her colleagues for the remainder of the session.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Summer 2023, page 6.

Democracy, Dissidents, Assimilated Conformists, Abbie Hoffman

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." - Abbie Hoffman

Found at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abbie_hoffman.html.

Women, Time to Vote, Actor 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.

Powerless, Prevent Injustice, Protest, Elise Wiesel

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel

This was found at Wisdom Quotes, and can be viewed at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/quote/elie-wiesel-5.html.

Rock the Boat, Turn it Over, Maya Angelou

“I still feel you should rock the boat. And if you're not in it, you should turn it over.” - Maya Angelou, in Conversations with Maya Angelou, 1989

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

Women, Equal Part of the Past, History, Gloria Steinem

“Women have always been an equal part of the past, just not an equal part of history.” - 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 103.

Rat Race, If You Win, You're Still a Rat, Lily Tomlin

“The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.” - Lily Tomlin

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 27.

Other States, Provide or Obtain Abortion Care, New York Attorney General Letitia James

“As other states move to attack those who provide or obtain abortion care, New York is proud to be a safe haven for abortion access. We will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them from doing their job and we will never cower in the face of intimidation or threats.” - New York Attorney General Letitia James, responding to a lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general against a New York doctor who provided telehealth abortion careFound in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2025, page 6.

Writing, Making Money, Making Friends, Enriching the Lives, Stephen King

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Found in Goodreads' Stephen King quotes section.

Take Sides, Neutrality Helps the Oppressor, Elie Wiesel

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elie_wiesel.html.

Protest, Democracy, Howard Zinn

“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” ― Howard Zinn

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

Homosexual, Heterosexual, Headache, Edna St. Vincent Millay

“Oh, you mean I'm homosexual! Of course I am, and heterosexual too. But what's that got to do with my headache?” - Famed meter maid Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose doctor held that love between ladies led to malaise.

Found in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, complied by Autumn Stephens, page 42.

Women Victims, Shame, Gisele Pelicot

“I wanted all women victims of rape to say ‘Mrs. Pelicot did it, we can too.’ When you’re raped there is shame, and it not for us to have shame – it’s for them.” – Gisele Pelicot, testifying in a French courthouse against her ex-husband, who drugged and raped her, and 50 other men who raped her at her husband’s invitation over the course of more than a decadeFound in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2025, page 6.

Intolerant of Ignorance, Illiteracy, Maya Angelou

"[My mother] said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.” - Maya Angelou

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

Applying Pressure on Our Government, Despair, Resignation, Indifference, Elie Wiesel

"It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is not an answer. Neither is resignation. Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment." - Elie Wiesel

This can be found at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Reality, Leading Cause of Stress, Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin

“Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it.” - Writer Jane Wagner, the wry collaborative mind behind some of Lily Tomlin's best lines.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 15.

Female Cat, Freedom, Kabul, Meryl Streep

“Today in Kabul a female cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel in the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban. A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not in public.” - Actor Meryl Streep, speaking at an event on Afghan women’s rights at the U.N.

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

Prevent Injustice, Protest, Elie Wiesel

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel

"We have to go into the despair and go beyond it, by working and doing for somebody else, by using it for something else." - Elie Wiesel

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elie_wiesel.html

Get a Lot Worse, Get Worse, Lily Tomlin

“Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.” - Lily Tomlin

From Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, Edited by Roz Warren, page 20.

Courage, Most Important, Virtues, Maya Angelou

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." - Maya Angelou

Found on Country Living at https://www.countryliving.com/life/g5054/quotes-about-strength/?slide=18.

It Always Starts, Insignificant, Never Stops, Hope Giselle-Godsey

“It always starts with things that people feel are insignificant, like public restrooms, but it never stops there. We’re here today to ensure they understand that we will not be erased – one bathroom at a time – or shoved back into the proverbial closet out of deference to the comfort of those who seek to eradicate us.” - Trans activist Hope Giselle-Godsey, who held a dance party protest in a women’s bathroom in the U.S. Capitol after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to bar trans women from using those facilitiesFound in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2025, page 6.

Opposite of Love, Indifference, Art, Faith, Life, Elie Wiesel

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." - Elie Wiesel

This was found at Wisdom Quotes, and can be viewed at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/quote/elie-wiesel-4.html.

Endure, Dream, Fail, Survive, Maya Angelou

“We can endure, dream, fail...and still survive.” - Maya Angelou, in Washington Post (Jan. 19, 1993)

Found in Contemporary Quotations in Black, compiled and edited by Anita King, page 11.

Gender, Masculine, Feminine, Gloria Steinem

“Gender has wrongly told us that some things are masculine and some things are feminine...which is bullshit.” - 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 27.

Because Women's Work, Underpaid, Unpaid, Boring, Reptitious, The Torch, Brigit Books, Women's Liberation Broadsheet, Joyce Stevens

"Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement." - Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

I first read these words on a poster at Brigit Books in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brigit Books has long since closed (darn!). But I was able to find out that Joyce Stevens wrote the above quote as a Union Song for Women's Liberation Broadsheet, International Woman's Day, 1975.

Numerous links had this listed as "Author unknown, quoted in The Torch." While I was able to find links to several magazines and newsletters listed as The Torch, none of them were ones that had listed this quote. However, we now know who wrote these words.