By Ella Baker
“You didn’t see me on television, you didn’t see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong people don’t need strong leaders.”
Ella Baker was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist.
By Che Guevara
“We should not go to the people and say, ‘Here we are. We come to give you the charity of our presence, to teach you our science, to show you your errors, your lack of culture, your ignorance of elementary things.’ We should go instead with an inquiring mind and a humble spirit to learn at that great source of wisdom that is the people.”
Che Guevara was a prominent communist figure in the Cuban Revolution and guerrilla leader in South America.
By Ishmael Beah
“The stranger who tells our stories when we cannot speak not only awakens our spirits and hearts but also shows our humanity—which others want to forget—and in doing so, becomes family.”
Ishmael Beah is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist who rose to fame with A Long Way Gone, his acclaimed memoir.
By John V. Taylor
“Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy; else we find ourselves treading on someone’s dream. More serious still, we may forget that God was already there before our arrival.”
John V. Taylor was an English bishop and theologian.
By Wade Davis
“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you. They are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”
Wade Davis is a Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, author, and photographer. He is an advocate for the world’s indigenous cultures.
By Donald B. Kraybill
“We believe in letting our light shine, but not shining it in the eyes of other people.”
Donald B. Kraybill is an American author, lecturer, and educator on Anabaptist faiths and culture. This quote is from his book Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy.
By Lilla Watson
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time… But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
Lilla Watson is a Murri (Indigenous Australian) visual artist, activist, and academic.
By St. Louise de Marillac
“It is not enough to have a mind enlightened by the consciousness of our faults. Our wills must be moved to correct them.”
By St. Louise de Marillac
“Undertake only what you can accomplish.”
By St. Louise de Marillac
“I rejoice in the hope that you are living together in great union, that your mutual support unites you in one heart and one mind in Jesus Christ, and that you are, therefore, a source of great edification* to everyone.”
*edification: 1.) the instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually, 2.) spiritual development, improvement of the soul