- It's in the doing that you get your strength.
Addie Scott Powell, founder, Bethlehem Area Community Association, Bethlehem, SC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 31 - You can sit around and say it's a shame the way they treat us, but if you know darn well something shouldn't exist, you've got a moral responsibility to point in the right direction. The more you know, the more responsibility you have.
Addie Scott Powell, founder, Bethlehem Area Community Association, Bethlehem, SC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 25 - I can always look through muddy water and see dry ground ahead.
Modjeska Simkins, 85-year-old social justice activist, Columbia, SC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 34 - It has to be the people that shows the medical folks and politicians that something can be done.
Eula Hall, founder, Mud Creek Clinic, Grethel, KY
Southern Exposure, Vol. XI, No. 2, Mar/Apr, 1983, p. 39 - There have been times when I thought, "Who am I to disturb the consciences of other people?" But I didn't set out to disturb them. I was asked for advice. I couldn't say, "I don't know." I'm supposed to be a spiritual leader and guide.
Bishop Leroy Matthiesen, nuclear weapons opponent, Amarillo, TX
Southern Exposure, Vol. XI, No. 2, Mar/Apr, 1983, p. 48 - The only accurate charge I ever had made against me was the time I got arrested [at a mine strike] in 1934. They said I was "getting information and going back and teaching it." That's exactly what I was doing.
Myles Horton, founder, Highlander Research and Education Center, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, p. 7 - If you want to have change, of course, the bottom line is that the folk for whom the change is meant must be involved in it.
Dorothy Cotton, civil rights activist
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 5, Sept/Oct, 1982, p. 27 - We all can be more. Like a caterpillar in a cocoon, you could grow wings. And when you're ready and your wings are strong, you can fly and soar to great heights.
Dorothy Cotton, civil rights activist
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 5, Sept/Oct, 1982, p. 25 - Rich or poor, money can't hold a conversation. You need people to participate.
Josephine Matthews, retired midwife/advocate for elderly, Wagener, SC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 7 - There's power in us a-comin' together.
Cordelia Maxwell, nonagenarian at Old People's Day, Eighty-Eight, AK
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 15 - You have to get organized. If you stick together, no one can break you.
W.H. Brown, health-care activist, Nashville, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 93 - I say that it will come, maybe not in my lifetime, but I say that justice will come.
Everett Akers, Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 70 - As long as folks keep hollering, why, I believe we'll make it.
Everett Akers, Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 71 - Well, I tell people I'm going to live until I dry up like a June bug, and I want to raise as much ruckus as I can every day.
Everett Akers, Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 2-3, p. 71 - I really did not have any idea that we could go that far and I could do part of it myself.
Gladys Maynard, social justice activist, Martin County, KY
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 5, Sept/Oct, 1982, p. 20 - I didn't think I could do anything to make things any different. But now I look at things in a whole new way. My confidence in myself has grown, and I know that I can handle just about anything.
Faye Eagle, displaced homemaker served by Work Experience Program
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 18 - People began to see if you will open your mouth, you can get it done--and so what if people say you're a troublemaker?
Norma "Corky" Jennings, local union president, Maryville, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 25 - The first thing I would say to people is, "Be together." That's number one. Be together. Put your head on right.
Mary Higgins, union supporter, Memphis, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 32 - I was born in the South and raised in ignorance. I was taught to be a good girl and a hard worker--to be nice and polite and obedient. For years this cultural conditioning worked and, like a sleepwalker, I walked the working-class chalk line unaware o
f my oppression and its true causes.
Brenda Best, educator, activist, union supporter, Charlotte, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 33 - I've learned that when something bugs you, go to the appropriate meeting and make a motion.
If it carries, something can get done. If it fails, give the people information, raise the level of awareness, and, eventually, if the idea has merit, it will pass.
Brenda Best, educator, activist, union supporter, Charlotte, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 35 - My mother used to tell me, you're going to lose your job fighting for those other people, or that it's dangerous work. I don't find it that dangerous. I remember telling her people like Dr. King weren't afraid. And you can't live with fear. If you're
doing the right thing, you should not live in fear. And I don't have that fear.
Joan Griffin, union officer, New Orleans, LA
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 66 - To do a job well, no matter what it is, it has to start in your mind. You have to have a satisfied mind.
Opal Broadway, domestic workers organizer, Memphis, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 71 - When you are clear in your objectives you find you just keep going. In this kind of work you learn fast that when one tool is out you quickly find another one.
Sister Anne Catherine Bizalion, director, Southern Mutual Help Association, Jeanerette, LA
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, Winter, 1981, p. 81 - The power comes from the people, and when you get a person sufficiently oppressed, they're going to rise. It's just like you put a kettle on the fire and put an airtight cover on it and flame underneath--after awhile it's going to explode, and it's go
ing to have an effect.
Elizabeth Cousins Rogers, lifelong activist, New Orleans, LA
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 2, March/April, 1982, p. 20 - Anyone that you can influence or anything that you can do to throw a little light on the situation, you must do now, because if we don't do it now we may not be here.
Elizabeth Cousins Rogers, lifelong activist, New Orleans, LA
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 2, March/April, 1982, p. 20 - Today we understand that the power of the vote goes beyond casting a ballot. Before, we were willing to put these people in office and just trust them to do the right thing. Now we know that we have to hold them accountable.
George Walker, voting rights activist, Claiborne County, MS
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 2, March/April, 1982, p. 38 - If people think one person can't make a difference, they're wrong. I have found that out. One person can change lots of things. First it's one and then it's one more that joins them and then another one and then you can change things.
Lynda Gwaltney, founder, Agent Orange Victims of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 2, March/April, 1982, p. 52 - Many organizers don't understand all the obstacles. For every lever of power you move, the establishment can move seven. You shouldn't go into any kind of organizing without appreciating the reaction you'll get.
Jose Angel Gutierrez, founder, La Raza Unida, Crystal City, TX
Southern Exposure, Vol. X, No. 2, March/April, 1982, p. 72 - The coal operators would think they got the union crushed, but just like putting out a fire, you can go out and stomp on it and leave a few sparks and here come a wind and it's going to spread again.
Hobart Grills, Evarts, KY
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 1-2, p. 92 - This struggle is like a relay race--you run as far as you can, and then you pass the stick on.
Lena Taylor, Mississippi Association of State Employees, Jackson, MS
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 8 - This is a roar of anger that cannot be silenced and will not be ignored.
Elena Hanggi, financial-reform activist, Little Rock, AR
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 17 - There are a lot of people who think, what can I do?--I don't have a voice in what goes on. Well, one person doesn't have a voice. But together, a lot of people do.
Foster Strong, financial-reform activist, Little Rock, AR
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 18 - We got to realize that we're all human earthlings.
Oliver Hill, civil rights lawyer, Richmond, VA
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 33 - The blacks can't make it by themselves, and the whites can't make it by themselves. So we got to unite, and we got to stick together if we want to get anywhere. Being by yourself, you'll never get nowhere.
Annie Mae Chavis, United Farmers Organization, Cumberland County, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVI, No. 1, p. 8 - As you organize you get stronger and stronger. The politicians listen more to 500 people than they would one. So I consider that a good thing for everyone concerned. I know we have some power in Washington, D.C. now. Pretty soon we won't have to peep
in the door--we'll walk through the door.
Annie Mae Chavis, United Farmers Organization, Cumberland County, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVI, No. 1, p. 8 - Can we survive? Only if we unite and let the lawmakers hear our voice.
Edna Harris, United Farmers Organization, Cumberland County, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVI, No. 1, p. 4 - Organizing is very, very hard.
Bernie Aronson, union officer, Harlan County, KY
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 1-2, p. 124 - Union is the great, fundamental principle by which every object of importance is to be accomplished.
Daniel Weaver, striking coal miner, Illinois, 1861
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 1-2, p. 115 - Our remedy, our safety, our protection, our dearest interests and the social well-being of our families, present and future--all depend on our unity and our regard for each other.
Daniel Weaver, striking coal miner, Illinois, 1861
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 1-2, p. 115 - I had never even voted until I got involved with NARAL and started realizing that people can make a difference. And if you're well-organized, you can make a big difference.
Tracy Sloop, National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) volunteer, Raleigh, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XII, No. 1, p. 29 - I'm talking about Freedom--freedom in our hearts and intellects and imaginations; and in our beds and bushes and kitchen; freedom on the streets and in the courts and legislative buildings; freedom with our families and our neighbors; freedom to be wh
o we are and love each other. The thing about freedom, though, is that you can't just want it for yourself only, or your own kind. Freedom means everybody: not just the men, not just the people with money, not just the white people, not just the Christian
s, not just the people without AIDS, not just queers, not just any part of us that might be better off than the rest. Freedom means justice.
Mab Segrest, director, North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVI, No. 3, p. 48 - I found out that if you can talk, you have a lot of power. You can get your message across, open the lines of communication and use them for yourself.
Donna Bazemore, poultry organizer, Center for Women's Economic Alternatives, Ahoskie, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 2, p. 33 - My belief is that justice is this big kind of ball that people come at from all points, but once you get inside the hope is that you'll see all the connections. That what's going on in El Salvador is connected with how much secretaries are paid and wh
ether they get to go home when their children are sick. I think it's responsible to try to draw people into the struggle for justice at whatever point they can understand it.
Jeanette Stokes, founder, Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, Durham, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XII, No. 1, p. 30 - Even if you don't have a religious view, you can keep a positive dream in view. That's how books I would read about other women's stories would really motivate me. Like Sojourner Truth, her life and her sayings. And Martin Luther King's "I have a drea
m." That just stuck in my mind. I have a dream, and now I have to set my goals and objectives. I don't want to settle for what I have caused my life to deal me. I don't want to wallow in self-pity. I want to get up and get out and do something.
Donna Bazemore, poultry organizer, Center for Women's Economic Alternatives, Ahoskie, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 2, p. 33 - I can't honestly say that I'm ready to die for the cause of educating and organizing workers. But I think I am willing to die for the cause of feeling free and having the sense of helping women find freedom. If I can educate this woman about carpal tu
nnel syndrome and worker's compensation, even if she goes back into the plant, at least she knows. She's free from not knowing; that helps her be free.
Donna Bazemore, poultry organizer, Center for Women's Economic Alternatives, Ahoskie, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 2, p. 33 - I learned you should never close the door on people, always give them a chance to do the right thing.
Oliver Harvey, labor organizer, Durham, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. VI, No. 2, p. 25 - We've got to take some risks if we're ever going to do anything. Life is a risk. Don't just worry about your own job, worry about what that job will be like for your children. Doing something for somebody else is the only way to better your own condit
ions in the long run.
Oliver Harvey, labor organizer, Durham, NC
Southern Exposure, Vol. VI, No. 2, p. 26 - If you left a light on the hill some younger person is gonna' be inspired later on to come on and pick this torch up and keep it moving.
Sally Mae Hadnott, community organizer and president, Autauga County NAACP, Prattville, AL
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 4, p. 22 - The preachers said we was dominized and the educators said we was crazy. But I didn't feel that way about it. If it was anything for justice, I wanted the same thing for my children that the other segment had for theirs.
Sally Mae Hadnott, community organizer and president, Autauga County NAACP, Prattville, AL
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 4, p. 19 - The black preachers are always in the pulpit on Sunday and they are preaching from eleven to one about heaven. How could he tell me what was on the other border and he hadn't been there? And we're catching hell right here. I said, "Preacher, I want so
me of what you're preaching about gonna' happen over on the other side, right here on earth."
Sally Mae Hadnott, community organizer and president, Autauga County NAACP, Prattville, AL
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 4, p. 21 - We could understand that they looked at it in another way. They had it drawn out in another picture. Maybe some were so prejudiced they feeled that they shouldn't be on the level with the black man, but howsoever, we were determined to explain and to
show them and to tell them what we wanted. We wanted to be heard, we wanted to be part of the federal government, and we wanted to make sure that our people were not the last hired and the first one fired.
Square Mormon, president, Poor People's Health Clinic, reminiscing about voting rights struggle, Fayette County, TN
Southern Exposure, Vol. VI, No. 2, p. 73 - With both my children and my grandchildren, I have encouraged them to reach high--not to think about what somebody else is doing but about what should be done. And I have always told them that the only way to do it is to start within yourself first. A
nd then your family. And then just spread out!
Anna Mae Dickson, community leader, Grimes County, TX
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 4, p. 81 - We stood up to the Governor and the legislature, and we said, 'We will have justice. We will not participate in the demeaning of our profession or of the children and communities we serve.' They said, 'Accept things as they have always been.' We have
answered them with strength, unity, and determination to change the system forever.
Alice Harden, president, Mississippi Association of Educators, Jackson, MS
Southern Exposure, Vol. XIII, No. 5, p. 39 - We're not going to make any changes in what's going on in this country until we can make changes in our own community. Not just for us, but for everybody. And that's what we're trying to do, make things better for everybody.
Judy Mullins, union member, Newport News, VA
Southern Exposure, Vol. IX, No. 4, p. 93 - There are two kinds of power, the power of money, and the power of people. They may have the power of money, but we have the power of people.
Jonathan Lange, Southern organizing director, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 10 - Organizing works. If people are given the information they need, they are really ready to move.
Zach Polett, regional director, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Little Rock, AR
Southern Exposure, Vol. XVII, No. 1, p. 18 - I've been plenty frustrated and I might have quit if I didn't believe we were right. Also, management keeps me mad most of the time and that helps keep me fighting.
Anonymous union officer, Alabama
Southern Exposure, Vol. IV, No. 1-2, p. 159 - I understand about hate. I've had reason to hate. But it destroys you so you have to put it aside.
Gaye Martin, family member of striking coal workers, Buffalo Creek, WVA
Southern Exposure, Vol. XII, No. 1, p. 45 - I could not, naturally, conceive what the Kingdom of God on Earth would be. But it was, as I understood by the Bible, to be established by the spirit and strivings of men. Come, Go, Do, Ask, Knock, Strive, Relieve, Free, Heal, House, Clothe, Feed were
words of action addressed to man in relation to its accomplishment.
Clearly, before man could become qualified and have the privilege of
becoming active in this struggle, he must have freedom of speech, press, movement, association, and opportunity.
Claude Williams, minister and labor activist, Paris, AR
Southern Exposure, Vol. 1, No. 3-4, p. 41
© 1996 by the Institute for Southern Studies
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Last Updated 10/20/96