The eternal destiny of human beings will be measured by how much or how little solidarity we have displayed with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and the oppressed. In the end we will be judged in terms of love.” Leonardo Boff

“Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people–they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress.” Paulo Freire

“Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.” Zechariah 7:9-10

“Movements are most powerful when they begin to affect the vision and perspective of those who do not necessarily associate themselves with those movements.” Angela Davis

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Karl Marx

“The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power.” George Orwell

“Is the Church fulfilling a purely religious role when by its silence or friendly relationships it lends legitimacy to dictatorial and oppressive government?” Gustavo Gutiérrez

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world.” Harriet Tubman

“What can we do now in order to be able to do tomorrow what we are unable to do today?” Paulo Freire

“No matter what God's power may be, the first aspect of God is never that of the absolute Master, the Almighty. It is that of the God who puts himself on our human level and limits himself.” Jacques Ellul

“Liberation that means revolutions of hate and violence and takes away lives of others or abases the dignity of others cannot be true liberty.” Oscar A. Romero

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude." 1 Corinthians 13:4

“Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18

“Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” Leo Tolstoy

“Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.” Zechariah 7:10

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” Mother Teresa

“Nothing great is ever achieved without enduring much.” St. Catherine of Siena

“Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

“If we cannot recognize the truth, then it cannot liberate us from untruth.” James H. Cone

“What people think about God, Jesus Christ, and the Church cannot be separated from their own social and political status in a given society.” James H. Cone

“In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be places of silence, inner discipline and peace. In such places love can blossom.” Thomas Merton

“A good person will resist an evil system with his whole soul. Disobedience of the laws of an evil state is therefore a duty.” Mahatma Gandhi

A single candle lights up the darkness

“It is necessary that the weakness of the powerless is transformed into a force capable of announcing justice. For this to happen, a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for accommodation.” Paulo Freire

“There’s no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom.” Paulo Freire

“The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” Paulo Freire

“Anyway I don't think we can rely on governments, regardless of who is in power, to do the work that only mass movements can do.” Angela Y. Davis

“Wherever things have become more important than people, we are in trouble. That is the crux of the whole matter.” Thomas Merton

“The most violent element in society is ignorance.” Emma Goldman

“Life is now a war zone, and as such, the number of people considered disposable has grown exponentially, and this includes low income whites, poor minorities, immigrants, the unemployed, the homeless, and a range of people who are viewed as a liability to capital…and profits.” Henry Giroux

“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin

“But there’s a message there for everyone and it is that people can unite, that democracy from below can challenge oligarchy, that imprisoned migrants can be freed, that fascism can be overcome, and that equality is emancipatory.” Angela Y. Davis

“The greatest single reason for [the] Christian church’s failure . . . is its failure to combat racism.” Malcolm X

“The gospel of Jesus is not a rational concept to be explained in a theory of salvation, but a story about God’s presence in Jesus’ solidarity with the oppressed, which led to his death on the cross.” James H. Cone

“Ignoring the poor is to show contempt for both God and humanity.” Phillip Michael Garner

“The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.” Thích Nhất Hạnh

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.” Harriet Tubman

“You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” Shirley Chisholm

“Satan can never be driven out by Satan. Error can never be corrected by error, and evil cannot be vanquished by evil.” Leo Tolstoy

“Practicing mutual aid is the surest means for giving each other and to all the greatest safety, the best guarantee of existence and progress, bodily, intellectual and moral.” Peter Kropotkin

“We must talk about poverty, because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.” Dorothy Day

A practical guide— “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-22

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world.” Harriet Tubman

“It is ironic that America, with its history of injustice to the poor, especially the black man and the Indian, prides itself on being a Christian nation.” James Cone

“That’s all nonviolence is – organized love.” Joan Baez

“Violence is essentially wordless, and it can begin only where thought and rational communication have broken down. Any society which is geared for violent action is by that very fact systematically unreasonable and inarticulate." (from Thomas Merton's introduction to Gandhi on Non-Violence)

“Merely to resist evil with evil by hating those who hate us and seeking to destroy them, is actually no resistance at all.” Thomas Merton

“Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.” St John of the Cross

“The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning.” John Dewey

“Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.” James 3:18