We must use words to uplift and include. We can use our words to fight back against oppression and hate. But we must also channel our words into action.
Interpretation
Words have the power to uplift and provoke change.
The quote by Stacey Abrams emphasizes the dual power of words. They can be tools for both inclusion and resistance against negative forces such as oppression and hate. However, itβs not enough to merely speak; one must also act on those words to create meaningful change.
In practice
In a speech about community building, this quote could serve to inspire collective action.
I grew up one of six children with working-class parents in the Deep South. My mother was a college librarian, and my father worked in a shipyard. I never saw them balance a checkbook, but they kept a roof over our heads and got all six of us into college.
I do not Google myself, I do not read comments, and I barely look myself in the eye when I look in the mirror.
My being a black woman is not a deficit. It is a strength. Because I could not be where I am had I not overcome so many other barriers. Which means you know I'm relentless, you know I'm persistent, and you know I'm smart.
The basis for sustainable progress is legal protections grounded in an awareness of how identity has been used to deny opportunity.
I like to solve problems. I know it is a skill set, but it's also an obligation. I grew up with parents who believe that you don't simply complain: you try to find solutions and fix what's in front of you.
Here in Georgia, we continue to grapple with our own vestiges of hate. The image carved into Stone Mountain, like Confederate monuments across this state, stand as constant reminders of racism, intolerance, and division.
Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.
I was scared before every battle. That old instinct of self-preservation is a pretty basic thing, but while the action was going on some part of my mind shut off and my training and discipline took over. I did what I had to do.
I've run into more discrimination as a woman than as an Indian.
We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people.
The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man. It is more powerful than external circumstances.
I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put their selves in harm's way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country, and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee, so I have the utmost respect for them, and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.
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