Alicia Garza

Black Lives Matter, as a network, will not, does not, has not, ain't going to endorse any candidates. Now if there are activists within the movement that want to do that independently, they should feel free, and if that's what makes sense for their local conditions, that's fantastic. ”

When we address the disparities facing black people, we get a lot closer to a true democracy where all lives matter. ”

There has to be a readjustment of resources that is being diverted to police and policing as opposed to community health services, and there certainly has to be control over the police by the communities that they are supposed to protect and serve. ”

Black Trans Lives Matter, to me, is really different. I think it speaks most directly to the marginalization and disenfranchisement of trans people within the black community. ”

There is no separation between the black community and the LGBT community. As a black, queer woman myself, I often have to assert, right, that it's not one or the other but that I am all of these things. ”

I think race and racism is probably the most studied social, economic, and political phenomenon in this country, but it's also the least understood. ”

When people say, 'Well, I don't talk to my family because they're all conservatives,' or 'I don't talk to my family because they're racist,' I'm, like, 'No, no, no; that's exactly who you need to be talking to.' ”

Socialism' became this weird household word partially because right-wingers call Obama a socialist, which he is the farthest from. ”

The best advice I ever got as an organizer was that if you can organize your family, you're a good organizer. ”

There is hope for humanity, but in order for us to get there, we really have to interrogate not just what it takes to change laws, but what it takes to change culture that supports laws that uplift humanity and also supports laws that serve to denigrate it. ”