I pray with my whole soul that the divide-and-conquerers among us will not triumph over us. We need each other in this world so desperately.
Ruby DeeRead
Revolutionaries don't get job security. They compete with rats for cheese and with strays for shelter--after the big bullets make feet out of their knees.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Revolutionaries often face instability and struggle, sacrificing security for their beliefs.
This quote by Ruby Dee emphasizes the precarious and often dangerous lives of revolutionaries, who must endure hardship and insecurity as they fight for change. It highlights the stark realities they face, likening their circumstances to competing for basic survival amid the brutal consequences of their actions in a tumultuous environment.
Themes
RevolutionStruggleSacrificeCourageChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social justice, you might say, 'As Ruby Dee reminds us, revolutionaries often face great insecurity.'
More from Ruby Dee
All quotes →You should always be prepared to win. But as much as I tell myself that, I've accepted another kind of role. Racism undercuts expectation, something like that. I'm not saying that to excuse myself from anything, but I've lived all this time, and things don't happen.
Ruby DeeRead
We both grew up in the atmosphere of struggle, both Ossie and me, ... I come out of Harlem and Harlem comes out of me - wailing police sirens and street parties, rumors and landlords, that cultural, spiritual scene. And Ossie came up from the South, where struggle and dying were part of everyday life. That is who we are.
Ruby DeeRead
I respect the fact that a director has studied the text and the road map of work before us, the subtleties, interconnections, underpinnings... His job is to paint the entire picture and knows all the colors that have to be in it.
Ruby DeeRead
See, I don’t expect to win a prize for stoic control and dignity at mourning time. Death deserve tantrums. Beating back shocked indignation, kicks in the groin, stones, classified unacceptable, not to be tolerated, not to be wooed, not to be conspired with. Only then can music, dance, movies, plays, rap be about life. Only then can life be cherished and adored.
Ruby DeeRead
I never thought about myself as an activist when we were coming along. I love the people I love. I didn't care whether they could be a Democrat, Republican, communist... anything but a racist.
Ruby DeeRead
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