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.
I respect every soldier, from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and America will not forget.
Discomfort is the call to set yourself free.
Travel is not about money, it's about courage.
In the terrible years of the Yezhov terror I spent seventeen months waiting in line outside the prison in Leningrad. One day somebody in the crowd identified me . . . and asked me in a whisper . . . "Can you describe this?" And I said: "I can."
I had 2 choices, be silent and get killed, or speak up and be killed, I chose the second option.
When I started boxing, people laughed at me and said, 'What can women do in boxing?' I took it as a challenge. If men can do it, why can't women? And I became a world champion before my marriage.
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