Oppressed Quotes

• To hold a people in oppression you have to convince them first that they are supposed to be oppressed.

  John Henrik Clarke

  People, Firsts, Oppression

  80 Copy quote

• Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Freedom, 4th Of July, Direct Action

  "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 16 Apr. 1963

  134 Copy quote

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• The history of an oppressed people is hidden in the lies and the agreed myth of its conquerors.

  Meridel Le Sueur

  Lying, People, Oppression

  Meridel Le Sueur, Elaine Hedges (1990). “Ripening: Selected Work”, p.66, Feminist Press at CUNY

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  If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.

  Malcolm X

  Hate, Lying, Media

  735 Copy quote

• A government which uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use force to oppose it.

  Nelson Mandela

  Teaching, Government, Use

  Nelson Mandela (1988). “The Historic Speech of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela at the Rivonia Trial: As Delivered from the Dock on April 20, 1964”

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• Be persecuted, rather than be a persecutor. Be crucified, rather than be a crucifier. Be treated unjustly, rather than treat anyone unjustly. Be oppressed, rather than be an oppressor. Be gentle rather than zealous. Lay hold of goodness, rather than justice.

  Isaac of Nineveh

  Spiritual, Justice, Zealous

  18 Copy quote

• O God and Lord, now the council condemns even Your own act and Your own law as heresy, since You Yourself did lay Your cause before Your Father as the just judge, as an example for us, whenever we are sorely oppressed.

  Jan Hus

  Father, Law, Judging

  77 Copy quote

• I believe that there will be ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think it will be based on the color of the skin.

  Malcolm X

  Believe, Thinking, Color

  273 Copy quote

• Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

  Frederick Douglass

  Freedom, Power, Tyrants

  Speech, Canandaigua, N.Y., 4 Aug. 1857

  81 Copy quote

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• You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.

  Malcolm X

  Peace, Freedom, Inspiration

  Speech in New York City, January 7, 1965.

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• Human beings are so made that the ones who do the crushing feel nothing; it is the person crushed who feels what is happening. Unless one has placed oneself on the side of the oppressed, to feel with them, one cannot understand.

  Simone Weil

  Crush, Sides, Oppression

  Simone Weil (1978). “Lectures on Philosophy”, p.139, Cambridge University Press

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• Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

  Karl Marx

  Religious, Atheist, Heart

  Karl Marx, Joseph O'Malley (1977). “Critique of Hegel's 'Philosophy Of Right'”, p.131, CUP Archive

  296 Copy quote

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• Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their opressors.

  Evelyn Cunningham

  Feminist, Feminism, Groups

  46 Copy quote

• Humour is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them.

  Simon Wiesenthal

  Happiness, Smile, Laughter

  42 Copy quote

• In the long run even the most despotic governments with all their brutality and cruelty are no match for ideas. Eventually the ideology that has won the support of the majority will prevail and cut the ground from under the tyrant's feet. Then the oppressed many will rise in rebellion and overthrow their masters.

  Ludwig von Mises

  Running, Cutting, Government

  Ludwig von Mises (2016). “An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution: The Economist”, p.264, VM eBooks

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• It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.

  Lord Acton

  Freedom, Equality, Democracies Have

  Lord Acton (2016). “The History of Freedom: Great Event”, p.9, VM eBooks

  55 Copy quote

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• I never felt oppressed because of my gender. When I'm writing a poem or drawing, I'm not a female; I'm an artist.

  Patti Smith

  Writing, Artist, Drawing

  9 Copy quote

• Some people are afraid of generosity. They feel they will be taken advantage of or oppressed. In cultivating generosity, we are only oppressing our greed and attachment. This allows our true nature to come out and become lighter and freer.

  Ajahn Chah

  Nature, Taken, Attachment

  44 Copy quote

• Men will often admit other women are oppressed but not you.

  Sheila Rowbotham

  Men, Feminist, Feminism

  9 Copy quote

• American and Israel share a special bond. Our relationship is unique among all nations. Like America, Israel is a strong democracy, a symbol of freedom, and an oasis of liberty, a home to the oppressed and persecuted.

  William J. Clinton

  Strong, Home, Unique

  15 Copy quote

• I have always felt it was a handicap for oppressed peoples to depend so largely upon a leader, because unfortunately in our culture, the charismatic leader usually becomes a leader because he has found a spot in the public limelight.

  Ella Baker

  Leader, Slavery, Culture

  152 Copy quote

• This book will present some aspects of what the writer has termed the pedagogy of the oppressed, a pedagogy which must be forged with, not for, the oppressed (whether individuals or peoples) in the incessant struggle to regain their humanity.

  Paulo Freire

  Struggle, Book, Humanity

  Paulo Freire (2014). “Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition”, p.34, Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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• Whoever removes the Cross and its interpretation by the New Testament from the center, in order to replace it, for example, with the social commitment of Jesus to the oppressed as a new center, no longer stands in continuity with the apostolic faith.

  Hans Urs von Balthasar

  Jesus, Commitment, Order

  86 Copy quote

• How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?

  Paulo Freire

  Dehumanization, Liberation, Pedagogy Of The Oppressed

  Paulo Freire (2014). “Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition”, p.48, Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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• [T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.

  Paulo Freire

  Fighting, Reality, Knowing

  45 Copy quote