Youth Activism Quotes & Sayings

The reason we feel hurt and anger when things and people outside us let us down is because we believe those things and people shouldn't. Well, sorry, that's not life here on earth. — Peter McWilliams

My activism did not spring from being black ... The racial injustice that was present in this country during my youth was a challenge to my belief in the oneness of the human family. — Bayard Rustin

I have a degree in European history, which didn't necessarily have any direct impact on my career, but I'm grateful I studied something other than acting in college. — Becki Newton

Dair stared at his father's hand, fisted tight on the arm of his chair, and ignored the question. "I saw her in the bailey with her cat. A terrible beast."
Padraig grinned. "The lass or the cat? — Lecia Cornwall

My hands are clean, but my heart has somewhat of impurity. — Euripides

I think I'm an actor because I have very strong imagination and empathy. I never studied acting, but those two qualities are exactly the qualities that make for an activist. — Susan Sarandon

The duty of youth is to challenge corruption. — Kurt Cobain

Islamism demanded no less of a root-and-branch overhaul of society. But because it was cloaked in religious garb, no one quite knew what to do with it, and people were desperate not to offend. There was confusion over whether to define our activism as a cultural identity, an ideology or a faith. To top it off, Islamism went through a decade of being embraced by both the left and right wings. The default left-leaning liberal position was to embrace the movement as part of multicultural sensitivity: to tell people to stop practising their faith was imperialism in nineties clothing, a colonial hangover bordering on racism. Instead, we were embraced as a new generation of anti-colonial politicised youth. Curiously, the default position on the right was to embrace us too, because it had been the Afghan Mujahideen, backed by the CIA, who fought the Soviet Union. Lest we forget, this was when Hollywood films such as Stallone's Rambo 3 portrayed the Afghan Mujahideen as heroes. — Maajid Nawaz

I grew up wanting to be a musician, but my parents were sure I would starve to death. So, they put me in physics and chemistry. That eventually blew up, and I got into radio. — John Tesh

Charles de Lint creates a magical world that's not off in a distant Neverland but here and now and accessible, formed by the "magic" of friendship, art, community, and social activism. Although most of his books have not been published specifically for adolescents and young adults, nonetheless young readers find them and embrace them with particular passion. I've long lost count of the number of times I've heard people from troubled backgrounds say that books by Charles saved them in their youth, and kept them going. — Terri Windling

I listen while my brothers-in-law and father talk college football, as always, the chatter loops around to Notre Dame, and will the Fighting Irish place in the polls this year. The number of the year may change, the children may get older, and we may add in a new baby or spouse here and there, but every autumn, and everything Thanksgiving, the talk turns to Notre Dame football and will they or won't they. — Adriana Trigiani