34 Opal Tometi Quotes for You to Enjoy

Opal Tometi

American Activist

Black Justice Matter People Racism Rights

Related authors: Angela Davis Cesar Chavez Gloria Steinem Harriet Tubman Malcolm X Noam Chomsky Sojourner Truth Susan B. Anthony

The U.S. has long characterized Haitian immigrants as criminals. This tradition began in 1963 when the first boat of Haitians seeking political asylum was summarily rejected by U.S. immigration officials, while at the same time the U.S. admitted thousands of Cubans as refugees and political asylees. Opal Tometi

Time Immigration Political Long First Criminals Asylum Characterized Immigrants Thousands Admitted Seeking Haitian Cuban Tradition Began Same Officials Refugees Same Time While Boat Rejected

Many thought that the abolition of slavery, the end of Jim Crow, and the legislative progress of the Civil Rights Era, among other watershed moments, would have fundamentally done away with the racist structures that have long oppressed black people. However, we know that has been far from the case. Opal Tometi

Rights People Progress Thought Black Long Other Watershed Jim Jim Crow Has-Been Would Civil Abolition Civil Rights Case Structures Crow Know Era However Been Oppressed End Done Legislative Far Many Moments Away Among Fundamentally Slavery

From my youngest brother to immigrant women to black queer folks, those are the people who keep me going. When I think about their various acts of courage, it reminds me that I am not alone and that we can do even more, and we deserve more, so we have to keep going. Opal Tometi

Alone Me Courage Women People Black Think Those Immigrant Folks Brother About More Various Reminds Am Queer Going Youngest Who Even Keep Keep Going Deserve Acts

I have two younger brothers, and I know my parents have spoken to them about driving and interacting with police. They didn't have those conversations with me, but they did have conversations about being exceptional black people. Opal Tometi

Me People Police Black Parents Those Brothers About Exceptional Driving Spoken Know Did Being Interacting Conversations Them Younger Two

The U.S.' refusal to acknowledge the plight of displaced Haitians and maintaining inhumane practices of neglect, disrespect, and violence amounts to a gross violation of human rights. Opal Tometi

Rights Human Rights Disrespect Neglect Plight Maintaining Haitian Practices Human Refusal Acknowledge Gross Inhumane Displaced Amount Violation Violence

I think about issues like climate change, and how six of the 10 worst impacted nations by climate change are actually on the continent of Africa. People are reeling from all sorts of unnatural disasters, displacing them from their ancestral homes and leaving them without a chance at making a decent living. Opal Tometi

Change People Living Think Ancestral Worst Unnatural Impacted About Like Disasters Sort Without How Making Climate Climate Change Continent Leaving Reeling Issues Six Decent Nations Africa Them Homes Actually Chance

We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and philosophers, so we actually have a lot ideas and a lot of really thought out strategies. Opal Tometi

Political Matter Thought Black Before Philosophers Project Out Network Ideas Still Came Lot Really Creating Strategies Lives Actually Thinkers

Many of the concessions that leading Democrats seem willing to make - from cutting diversity visas to chipping away at family visas - would be made on the backs of black immigrants, people from Africa and the Caribbean who deserve these policies to remain intact as some of the few legal tools they have to immigrate to this country. Opal Tometi

Family Legal People Black Made Diversity Country Few Caribbean Tools Backs Immigrants Willing Would Would-Be Some Seem Remain Leading Make Policies Democrats Intact Africa Chipping Cutting Who Many Deserve Away

What we are oftentimes reminding people of is the fact that the history of police in the U.S. was that they were slave patrols. They were quite literally created in order to capture enslaved Africans. Opal Tometi

History People Police Enslaved Fact Reminding Were Quite Oftentimes The History Of African Order Literally Created Capture Slave

We actually know that all lives do matter. And we believe it is so much so that we had to create Black Lives Matter. Opal Tometi

Matter Black Believe Had Know Create Much Lives Actually

We created #BlackLivesMatter. We created a platform. We used our social media presence online in order to forward a conversation about what is taking place in black communities. Opal Tometi

Conversation Social Media Black Our About Online Taking Order Place Social Created Used Communities Forward Platform Media Presence

African-Americans and black immigrants share a resilience and a determination for a better life. Opal Tometi

Life Determination Better Black Immigrants Better Life Share Resilience

As a community organizer who holds a degree in history, I understand the fascination with history. However, there is a tendency for many of us to get engrossed in the recounting of our history, which often amounts to purely intellectual activity without material action. Opal Tometi

History Degree Community Action Our Purely Tendency Without Understand Material However Intellectual Get Often Holds Which Us Organizer Who Many Fascination Activity Amount

Anti-black racism operates at a society-wide level and colludes in a seamless web of policies, practices, and beliefs to oppress and disempower black communities. Opal Tometi

Racism Black Web Policies Practices Oppress Communities Seamless Beliefs Level

Some of us have held the hands of friends or brothers as they struggled with military and police academy recruiters, and though many of them never dreamed of being policemen, a lack of opportunities led them to those positions. Opal Tometi

There are always groups on campus that are doing amazing things. I know when I was in college, I was a student at the University of Arizona, working on my bachelor's in history, and I got involved with a number of different groups that were connected to different social justice issues that I cared about. Opal Tometi

History Justice Amazing College Bachelor About Student Arizona Know Involved Always Got Doing Issues Were Amazing Things Campus Different Social Working Social Justice Connected Groups Things Cared Number University

I just look back at my time in college and think about how much my community activism and my work in neighborhoods really informed my actual academic career and beyond... It can provide a way better learning than the traditional classroom setting. Opal Tometi

Work Time Learning Better College Community Think Setting Back Way Neighborhoods About Classroom My Time Academic Beyond Look How How Much Traditional Provide Than Just Informed Much Really Activism Actual Career

The reality is that anti-black racism is a global phenomenon, and it looks different in each context, but if you look at the outcomes, if you listen and look at the experiences, you will see that it's clear, and it's happening across the globe. Opal Tometi

You Reality Racism Will Outcomes See Clear Global Look Looks Globe Context Listen Different Experiences Happening Across Each Phenomenon

I think the two-party system isn't working for us. And it hasn't worked for us for generations - let's be very, very honest about that. Opal Tometi

Think System About Generations Very Us Worked Working Honest Two-Party

If things aren't working for us, it is our duty to rise up. Opal Tometi

Duty Our Rise Up Us Working Things

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