WIST Quotations

Lorde, Audre -- “A Litany for Survival,” The Black Unicorn (1978)

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:43:08 +0000

And when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcome
but when we are silent
we are still afraid.
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) American writer, feminist, civil rights activist
“A Litany for Survival,” The Black Unicorn (1978)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- If You Ask Me (1946)

Dave — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:47:23 +0000

My greatest fear has always been that I would be afraid — afraid physically or mentally or morally and allow myself to be influenced by fear instead of by my honest convictions.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
If You Ask Me (1946)

Addams, Jane -- Editorial, Rockford Seminary Magazine (c. 1880)

Dave — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:13:32 +0000

To do what you are afraid to do is to guide your life by fear. How much better not to be afraid to do what you believe in doing!

Jane Addams (1860-1935) American reformer, suffragist, philosopher, author
Editorial, Rockford Seminary Magazine (c. 1880)

Quoted in James Weber Linn, Jane Addams: A Biography (1935).

Reacting to Emerson. See also Schmich.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 2 “The Vigor of Life” (1913)

Dave — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:14:48 +0000

There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, from grizzly bears to “mean” horses and gunfighters, but by acting as if I was not afraid, I gradually ceased to be afraid.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 2 “The Vigor of Life” (1913)
(Source)