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 BakerRead
The major job was getting people to understand that they had something within their power that they could use, and it could only be used if they understood what was happening and how group action could counter violence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of collective understanding and action in combating violence.
Ella Baker highlights that individuals possess the power to act against violence when they understand their capabilities and the dynamics of group action. By fostering awareness and solidarity, communities can mobilize effectively to challenge and respond to oppression, illustrating the significance of grassroots movements in enacting change.
Themes
PowerUnderstandingGroup ActionViolenceAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a community meeting to inspire collective action against local violence.
More from Ella Baker
All quotes →My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders.
Ella BakerRead
Give light, and people will find the way...
Ella BakerRead
Remember, we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone, but for the freedom of the human spirit a larger freedom that encompasses all mankind.
Ella BakerRead
Strong people don't need strong leaders.
Ella BakerRead
You didn't see me on television, you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders.
Ella BakerRead
Similar quotes
Nobody but radicals have ever accomplished anything in a great crisis.
James A. GarfieldRead
We have to keep in mind at all times that we are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as free humans in this society.
Malcolm XRead
It takes great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.
Oscar WildeRead
It is easy to be disgruntled if you are denied rights and freedoms to which you feel entitled. But if you are not coherent, if you cannot put into words what it is that displeases you and why it is unfair and should change, then you are dismissed as an unreasonable whiner. You may be lectured about perseverance and patience, life as a test, the need to accept the higher wisdom of others.
Ayaan Hirsi AliRead
The IWW [Industrial Workers of the World] has been accused of pushing women to the front. This is not true. Rather, the women have not been kept in back, and so they have naturally moved to the front.
Elizabeth Gurley FlynnRead
There are some fires you can't get out of- you've got to go through the fire - you've got to go through the flood - you've got to go through the test - you've got to go through the struggle that you might decrease and he might increase.
T. D. JakesRead