Most Powerful Woman, Certain Element of Misogyny, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“Every time I get introduced as the most powerful woman, I almost cry, because I wish that were not true. I so wish that we had a woman president of the United States, and we came very close to doing that. ...I do think there’s a certain element of misogyny.” - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-raning woman ever to serve in the U.S. government, speaking at her weekly news conference after Sen. Elizabeth Warren ended her presidential bid.

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

Never Normalize the Ending of Democracy, Tyranny, White Supremacy, Patriarch, Justin Pearson, Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, Tennessee

“We can never normalize the ending of democracy. We can never normalize the tyranny of the way that these people in positions of power are operating due to white supremacy and … the patriarchy. That is what we’re up against.” - Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D), On being expelled from the Legislature by the House’s Republican supermajority for joining a chant with gun violence protesters in the capitol in late March, following a mass shooting at a Nashville School three days prior. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.

“It might have to do with the color of our skin.” - Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D), answering why she was spared from expulsion from the Legislature while Reps. Pearson and Justin Jones (D) were not. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.

Pearson and Jones, who are African American, were expelled from the Tennessee state legislature on April 6, 2023, while Johnson, who is white, wasn't expelled. (Both men were reinstated four months later. Right on!)

Pipelines to Leadership, Universities, Racially DIverse, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan

“These are the pipelines to leadership in our society. And if universities aren’t racially diverse, then all of those institutions are not going to be racially diverse either. ...I thought that part of what it meant to be an American and to believe in American pluralism is that actually our institutions are reflective of who we are as a people in all our variety.” - Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan,in oral arguments over the constitutionality of race-abased affirmative action in college admissions.

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

Let-Them-Eat-Cake Obliviousness, Colorblindness, Irrelevant in Law, Life, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. ...The only way out of this morass – for all of us – is to stare at racial disparity unblinkingly, and then do what evidence and experts tell us is required to level the playing field and march forward together, collectively striving to achieve true equality for all Americans.” - Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissenting to the Supreme Court’s majority ruling prohibiting the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

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

Courage, Absence of Fear, Triumph, Brave Man, Conquers That Fear, Nelson Mandela

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, activist

Found in Quotes to Live By: Words That Inspire Those Who Inspire Us, by by F+W Media, Inc., page 9.

Beauty of the Earth, Reserves of Strength, Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Found in Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15332.Rachel_Carson.

Woman's Life, Dignity, Decision, Less Than a Fully Adult Human, Choices, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"This is something central to a woman's life, to her dignity. It's a decision that she must make for herself. And when government controls that decision for her, she's being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on support for abortion rights

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