--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Martyrs are needed to create incidents…" description: "\"Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are needed to create revolutions. Revolutions are needed to create progress.\" — Chester Himes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/chester-himes-30065_incidents_martyrs-are-needed-to-create-incidents-i_3067535.png" --- # Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are… ![“Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are needed to create revolutions. Revolutions are needed to create progress.” quote by Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/chester-himes-30065_incidents_martyrs-are-needed-to-create-incidents-i_3067535.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/chester-himes-30065_incidents_martyrs-are-needed-to-create-incidents-i_3067535.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/chester-himes-30065_incidents_martyrs-are-needed-to-create-incidents-i_3067535.png) > “Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are needed to create revolutions. Revolutions are needed to create progress.” [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Martyrs spark incidents, which ignite revolutions, leading to societal progress. **In simple terms:** People who die for a cause trigger events that cause change. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of sacrifice in change. Themes revolution progress martyrdom social change Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political movements - social reforms - activism - civil rights Key Concepts catalysis collective action historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are necessary for meaningful change? - How can we honor martyrs without glorifying violence? A Different Perspective Progress often requires more than sacrifice; systemic barriers persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Create Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-revolutions-2402662/) [Incidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incidents/) [Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr/) [Martyrs Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrs-needed-5173641/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) [Revolutions Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-needed-5173640/) [Revolutions Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-revolutions-757941/) ## Related quotes > [In the political, the social, the economic, even the cultural sphere, the revolutions of our time have been revolutions "against" rather than revolutions "for"...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-the-political-the-social-the-economic-even-the-cultural-sphere-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [What is this world? A complex whole, subject to endless revolutions. All these revolutions show a continual tendency to destruction; a swift succession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/what-is-this-world-a-complex-whole-subject-to-endless-revolutions-all/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [We are not the ones who create revolutions. It is the imperialist system and its allies, internal allies, the ones who create revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-are-not-the-ones-who-create-revolutions-it-is-the-imperialist/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [By being natural and sincere, one often can create revolutions without having sought them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/by-being-natural-and-sincere-one-often-can-create-revolutions-without/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [Al Jazeera is not a tool of revolution. We do not create revolutions. 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It is devastating to be abused by someone that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/domestic-violence-causes-far-more-pain-than-the-visible-marks-of/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/you-are-unique-and-there-may-be-incidents-in-your-experience-that-are/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [A memoir takes some particular threads, some incidents, some experience from a person's life and gives an account of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hell/a-memoir-takes-some-particular-threads-some-incidents-some-experience/) [Richard Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hell/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [I have yet to see someone attack Obama over his report card. A lot of people I talk to from both sides of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-have-yet-to-see-someone-attack-obama-over-his-report-card-a-lot-of/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [And I sat there getting drunker and drunker and more in love and more in love...And you can never touch a girl in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/and-i-sat-there-getting-drunker-and-drunker-and-more-in-love-and-more/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) ## More by Chester Himes > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [American violence is public life, it's a public way of life, it became a form, a detective story form. So I should think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/american-violence-is-public-life-it-s-a-public-way-of-life-it-became/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Our highest ambition is to be included in the stream of American life, to be permitted to "play the game" as any other American;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/our-highest-ambition-is-to-be-included-in-the-stream-of-american-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [It seemed so illogical to punish some poor criminal for doing something that civilization taught him how to do so he could have something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/it-seemed-so-illogical-to-punish-some-poor-criminal-for-doing/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“Don't ever lean your whole weight on happiness, Jimmy. You fall too hard too hard when it gives away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/don-t-ever-lean-your-whole-weight-on-happiness-jimmy-you-fall-too/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“For he reached the conclusion that everything he had ever seen, or had ever done, or had ever dreamed of doing would in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/for-he-reached-the-conclusion-that-everything-he-had-ever-seen-or-had/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-grew-to-manhood-in-the-ohio-state-penitentiary/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [When you get to mixing sex and religion, it will make anybody crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/when-you-get-to-mixing-sex-and-religion-it-will-make-anybody-crazy/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Democracy is not tolerance. Democracy is a prescribed way of life erected on the premise that all men are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/democracy-is-not-tolerance-democracy-is-a-prescribed-way-of-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I would sit in my room and become hysterical about the wild incredible story I was writing. And I thought I was writing realism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-would-sit-in-my-room-and-become-hysterical-about-the-wild/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all-our-lives-the-tree-will-send/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-of-the-purpose-of-life-if-he/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [The Harlem of my books was never meant to be real; I never called it real; I just wanted to take it away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/the-harlem-of-my-books-was-never-meant-to-be-real-i-never-called-it/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [There is an indomitable quality within the human spirit that cannot be destroyed; a face deep within the human personality that is impregnable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/there-is-an-indomitable-quality-within-the-human-spirit-that-cannot/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) [Explore all 17 Chester Himes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## More Incidents quotes > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) > [And I sat there getting drunker and drunker and more in love and more in love...And you can never touch a girl in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/and-i-sat-there-getting-drunker-and-drunker-and-more-in-love-and-more/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [I have yet to see someone attack Obama over his report card. A lot of people I talk to from both sides of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-have-yet-to-see-someone-attack-obama-over-his-report-card-a-lot-of/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [A memoir takes some particular threads, some incidents, some experience from a person's life and gives an account of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hell/a-memoir-takes-some-particular-threads-some-incidents-some-experience/) [Richard Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hell/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/you-are-unique-and-there-may-be-incidents-in-your-experience-that-are/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [Domestic violence causes far more pain than the visible marks of bruises and scars. It is devastating to be abused by someone that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/domestic-violence-causes-far-more-pain-than-the-visible-marks-of/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [I let my game do the talking. I've had incidents like that but when I compare my own story to the stories that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-ashley/i-let-my-game-do-the-talking-i-ve-had-incidents-like-that-but-when-i/) [Maurice Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-ashley/) > [Wherein lies a poet's claim to originality? That he invents his incidents? No. That he was present when his episodes had their birth? No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/wherein-lies-a-poet-s-claim-to-originality-that-he-invents-his/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To-day there is hardly a woman of intelligence in all America ... who is not definitely and actively concerned in some social interest, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/to-day-there-is-hardly-a-woman-of-intelligence-in-all-america-who-is/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself . . . with incidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-tragedy-is-the-imitation-of-an-action-that-is-serious-and-also-as/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/until-one-is-committed-there-is-hesitancy-the-chance-to-draw-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 439 Incidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are needed to create revolutions. 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