I think people are uncomfortable talking about the racist history of this country and what we need to do to undo the impact of racism.

Bowdoin was the first place that I fell in love with. When I visited, I just had never been to a place with that many resources and that much access to information. That was stuff that you saw in movies. I didn't know that existed in real life.

People often confuse visibility with a lot of other things. Sometimes I become a proxy for things that just aren't true about me. People will say, 'DeRay got millions of dollars in grants.' That's just not true... I'm broke.

The first time I was ever impressed with Patagonia as a brand was when they released the 'Don't Buy This Jacket' campaign. That campaign highlighted their understanding of their role in a larger environmental justice space.

Politics is compromise, by its very nature. But we never compromise on our values and beliefs.

If you close your eyes and think about where you feel the most safe, you're probably not going to tell me it's in a room full of police. You feel safe where you're around people that love you, when you have food and shelter, when you're being pushed to be your best self and learn.

I was a teacher. I also worked at Harlem Children's Zone. I moved back to Baltimore and opened up an after-school, out-of-school program on the west side and then worked in two public school districts, in Baltimore and Minneapolis.

If City Hall started projecting swastikas, no one would say 'You know what? Free speech.' People would say that is wrong.

I think about freedom as not only as the absence of oppression but also the presence of justice and joy.

There will always be a rule. There will be people who break the rules. There will be consequences. We fundamentally think these things will be true for a time. The question becomes, What are the consequences? Who enforces the consequences? What are the worst consequences?

Find an issue that's important to you, and be as curious and close to it as possible.

We question these issues of race and struggle and white privilege because we know that those issues are real and because those issues have real implications in black communities. And white supremacy is not only dangerous, but it is deadly.

I am mindful that the goal of protest is not more protest, but the goal of protest is change.

You're not born woke. Something wakes you up.

I'm not desensitized to death.

I think hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better than today, and I don't lose hope.

Justice that is not rooted in equity, in social welfare, and in community is not justice at all.

I think of protest as confrontation and disruption, as the end of silence.

I am not naive enough to believe that voting is the only way to bring about transformational change, just as I know that protest alone is not the sole solution to the challenges we face.

The difference between equity and equality is that equality is everyone get the same thing and equity is everyone get the things they deserve.

“When a person finally breaks, they are good for nothing except for like broken glass used to stab, kill and destroy life”

But separate a man from his car - that's inhuman.

To have humanism we must first be convinced of our humanity. As we move further into decadence this becomes more difficult.

The cause of justice is the cause of humanity. Its advocates should overflow with universal good will. We should love this cause, for it conduces to the general happiness of mankind.