Ignorance, Excuse, Real Thing, Irene Peter

“Ignorance is no excuse – it's the real thing.” - Irene Peter

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 5.

Woman, Money, Room of Her Own, Virginia Woolf

“A woman must have money and a room of her own.” - Virginia Woolf

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 18.

Too Angry, Keep Your Mouth Shut, 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.

Government, Silencing the Voice of Opposition, Increasingly Repressive Measures, Harry S. Truman

“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." - Harry S. Truman, [Special Message to the Congress on the Internal Security of the United States, August 8, 1950]”

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/203941.Harry_Truman.

Never to be Silent, Always Take Sides, Neutrality, Elie Wiesel

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Elie Wiesel

Found on Wisdom Quotes at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Speak, Afraid, Silent, Better to Speak, Audre Lorde

"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak." - Audre Lorde

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/audre_lorde_392663.

Programs, Remove a List, Words and Phrases, Funding Applications, Rep. Summer Lee

“Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the world Black. Do you have any idea of how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can’t say ‘Black?’” - Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), questioning Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on how HHS will address disparities affecting Black women.

Found in Summer 2026 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 6.

Confused, Thinking Clearly, Irene Peter

“Today, if you're not confused, you are not thinking clearly.” - Irene Peter

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 48.

Tell the Truth About Yourself, Other People, Virginia Woolf

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” - Virginia Woolf

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 56.

Men of Privilege, Forests, Children, Compassion, Winona LaDuke

“I would argue yes. In fact, I would question the inverse. Can men of privilege...who do not feel the impact of policies on forests, children or their ability to breastfeed children...actually have the compassion to make policy that is reflection of the interests of others. At this point, I think not.” ― Winona LaDuke

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/107298.Winona_LaDuke.

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.

America, False, Hope, Barack Obama

“In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.” ― Barack Obama

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6356.Barack_Obama.

Racism, Prejudice, Indifference, Thurgood Marshall

“I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” ― Thurgood Marshall

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/331989.Thurgood_Marshall.

Care, Atteneion, Ladies, Rebllion, Abigail Adams

“If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in w hich we have no voice, or Representation.” – Abigail Adams, March 31, 1776

Found in Summer 2026 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 52.

Changing the World, Changing Himself, Leo Tolstoy

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” ― Leo Tolstoy

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/128382.Leo_Tolstoy.

Nice in Life, Nerve, Georgia O'Keeffe

“It's not enough to be nice in life. You've got to have nerve.” - Georgia O'Keeffe

Found in Quotes for Nasty Women: Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules, by Linda Picone, page 55.

Talent, Table Salt, Hard Work, Stephen King

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/stephen_king_163656.

Liberal, Radical, Conservative Advocate, Gloria Steinem

“No man can call himself liberal, or radical, or even a conservative advocate of fair play if his work depends in any way of the unpaid or underpaid labor of women at home or in the workplace.” - 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 64.

Convictions, Science, Historical Experience, Elections, Alexey Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir

“But I will not give up either my ideas or my homeland. My convictions are not exotic, sectarian, or radical. On the contrary, everything I believe in is based on science and historical experience. Those in power should change. The best way to elect leaders is through honest and free elections. Everyone needs a fair legal system. Corruption destroys the state. There should be no censorship. The future lies in these principles.” ― Alexey Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7149583.Alexei_Navalny.

Fashion, Rise of Fascism, Thinness, Hannah Einbinder

“My fashion hot take is that as we see a rise of fascism, there is a direct correlation with thinness, to make women take up less space.” – Hacks costar Hannah Einbinder, in an interview with Cosmopolitan.

Found in Summer 2026 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 6.

Scariest Moment, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Found in Goodreads Stephen King quotes section.

History, Grave Threats, Liberty, Constitutional Rights, Thurgood Marshall

“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.” ― Thurgood Marshall

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/331989.Thurgood_Marshall.

Beginning, Today, Mary Shelley

“The beginning is always today.” ― Mary Shelley

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/11139.Mary_Wollstonecraft_Shelley.

Serious Political Leader, Fellow Citizens, Alexei Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir

“A serious political leader cannot simply decide to turn his back on a huge number of his fellow citizens because he personally dislikes their views.” ― Alexei Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7149583.Alexei_Navalny.

Fashion Dropout, Harper's Bazaar, Molly Ivins

“Although a life-long fashion dropout, I have absorbed enough by reading Harper's Bazaar while waiting at the dentist's to have grasped that the purpose of fashion is to make A Statement. My own modest Statement, discerned by true cognoscenti, is, 'Woman Who Wears Clothes So She Won't Be Naked.'” - Molly Ivins

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 37.

DOW, S&P, Nasdaq, Pam Bondi, Epstein Files

“The DOW is over 50,000 right now, the S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. … That’s what we should be talking about.” - Attorney General Pam Bondi, complaining to the House Judiciary Committee about its hearing on the Epstein files – while survivors of Jeffrey Epstein were seated just behind her.

Found in Spring 2026 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 6.

Pill, Birth, Gloria Steinem

“When the pill came along, more women were able to give birth to themselves.” - 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 18.

We the People, White Male Citizens, Male Citizens, Whole People, Their Rights, Susan B. Anthony

"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people -- women as well as men." - Susan B. Anthony, speech after her arrest for voting in the 1872 presidential election

"Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less." - Susan B. Anthony, The Revolution, Jan. 8, 1868

First quote ("It was we, the people...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b.html.

Second quote ("Men, their rights...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b_ii.html.

Humor, Anger, Make-Up, Stephen King, Bag of Bones

“Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on.” ― Stephen King, Bag of Bones

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

Write, Do Not Speak, Voice, Terrified, Silence, Audre Lorde

"I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't." - Audre Lorde

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/audrelorde409007.html.

Truth, Justice, Malcolm X

"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against." - Malcolm X

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/malcolm_x_385966