For immigrant women, fighting for some of the standard platforms of the women's movement may feel unthinkable when deportation is staring you in the face every day.
I am not a woman on Monday, an immigrant on Tuesday, a worker on Wednesday, and a mom on Thursday, I am all of those things all of the time, and I am going to fight for all of those things all of the time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the multifaceted identity of an individual and the commitment to advocate for all aspects of that identity without compartmentalization.
Pramila Jayapal's quote speaks to the complexity and intersectionality of identity, illustrating that people are not defined by singular roles or categories. Instead, it affirms that one's identity encompasses various aspects, such as gender, immigration status, profession, and parenthood, all of which deserve equal recognition and advocacy simultaneously. This serves as a powerful reminder of the need for inclusive representation and the importance of fighting for justice across all dimensions of one's life.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a keynote speech about diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
More from Pramila Jayapal
All quotes →Having a strong race lens means you understand racism is threaded through and institutionalized in all of our systems and our very perceptions, threaded through how someone looks at you, treats you, thinks about you and your potential.
If there is one thing that resonates for women, it is that regardless of where we come from or what we look like, we want to be fully recognized for the breadth of our contributions.
Every hour that goes by with family separation policies in effect is another hour that mothers weep thinking of their children, another hour that kids are fearfully wondering where their parents have been taken, another hour that trauma deepens.
Similar quotes
We may be personally defeated, but our principles never!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?
They did not submit to the obvious alternative, which was simply to close the eyes and fall. So easy, really. Go limp and tumble to the ground and let the muscles unwind and not speak and not budge until your buddies picked you up and lifted you into the chopper that would roar and dip its nose and carry you off to the world. A mere matter of falling, yet no one ever fell. It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards.
Always do what you are afraid to do.
The two great risks are risking too much but also risking too little. That's for each person to decide. For me, not risking anything is worse than death. By far.
I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back.