--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's both a tremendous obligation and…" description: "\"“It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake the unfulfilled work of the best of our abolitionist precursors--those who did not only want ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg" --- # It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake… ![“It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake the unfulfilled work of the best of our abolitionist precursors--those who did not only want the abolition of white supremacist slavery and normalized anti-Black violence, but who also recognized that the greatest promise of abolitionism was…” quote by Dylan Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg) > ““It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake the unfulfilled work of the best of our abolitionist precursors--those who did not only want the abolition of white supremacist slavery and normalized anti-Black violence, but who also recognized that the greatest promise of abolitionism was a comprehensive transformation of a civilization in which the sanctity of white civil society was defined by its capacity to define 'community' and 'safety' through the effective of its ability to wage racial genocides. The present day work of (..) abolition has to proceed with organic recognition of its historical roots in liberation struggles against slavery, colonization, and conquest--and therefore struggle to constantly develop effective, creative, and politically educating forms of radical movement against the genocidal white supremacist state and the society to which it's tethered.”” [Dylan Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-rodriguez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calls for a radical, comprehensive abolition of oppressive systems, linking past abolitionist visions to present-day transformative work. **In simple terms:** Abolition must transform society, not just end slavery. Key Takeaway Pursue systemic change, not just policy fixes. Themes abolition social justice systemic change radical transformation historical continuity Mood urgent hopeful challenging Type Abolitionism:1 Civil society:1 Decolonizing:1 Present day:0 Prison-abolition:1 Day Work:0 Promise Abolitionism:0 Abolitionist Precursors:0 Abolitionism Comprehensive:0 Supremacist Slavery:1 When to use this quote - community organizing - policy reform - educational workshops Key Concepts political theory critical race studies activism Questions to Reflect On - What does comprehensive abolition look like today? - How can we honor past abolitionist visions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolitionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionism/) [Abolitionism Comprehensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionism-comprehensive-3378727/) [Abolitionist Precursors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist-precursors-3378726/) [Civil society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-society/) [Day Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-work/) [Decolonizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decolonizing/) [Present day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-day/) [Prison-abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-abolition-149431/) [Promise Abolitionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise-abolitionism-3378725/) [Supremacist Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supremacist-slavery-3378728/) ## Related quotes > [“The majority of people who are in prison are there because society has failed them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-y-davis/the-majority-of-people-who-are-in-prison-are-there-because-society/) [Angela Y. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-y-davis/) > [“If he's a poet, why's he in jail?" demanded a suspicious voice. Madam Chairwoman shrugged velvet shoulders. "Perhaps he writes free verse," she suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-sharp/if-he-s-a-poet-why-s-he-in-jail-demanded-a-suspicious-voice-madam/) [Margery Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-sharp/) > [“Prison abolition is more than a politic, it’s a daily practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shira-hassan/prison-abolition-is-more-than-a-politic-it-s-a-daily-practice/) [Shira Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shira-hassan/) > [Throughout the three decades preceding the Civil War, the anticlerical ethos of the radical abolitionists was used against them by religious opponents of emancipation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/throughout-the-three-decades-preceding-the-civil-war-the-anticlerical/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [ “\[Emerson\] saw, in the beginning, no difference between abolitionism and the institutionalized religion he had rejected in the Divinity School address. They were both… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/emerson-saw-in-the-beginning-no-difference-between-abolitionism-and/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [In trying to address the systemic problem of racial injustice, we would do well to look at abolitionism, because here is a movement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-sinha/in-trying-to-address-the-systemic-problem-of-racial-injustice-we/) [Manisha Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-sinha/) > [“it would have been better never to have made a sacrifice of blood and treasure to save the Union than to have the democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/it-would-have-been-better-never-to-have-made-a-sacrifice-of-blood-and/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ “\[T\]he West did not invent slavery; the West ended slavery.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/t-he-west-did-not-invent-slavery-the-west-ended-slavery/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Animal welfarism is a blatant lie. Anyone who truly cares for the welfare of another, would never dream of exploiting them. For just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mango-wodzak/animal-welfarism-is-a-blatant-lie-anyone-who-truly-cares-for-the/) [Mango Wodzak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mango-wodzak/) > [We often forget that the women's rights movement actually grew out of the abolition movement. It is really within abolitionism that many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-sinha/we-often-forget-that-the-women-s-rights-movement-actually-grew-out-of/) [Manisha Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-sinha/) > [Abolitionism did not find positive response in Africa as it did in Western societies and cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/abolitionism-did-not-find-positive-response-in-africa-as-it-did-in/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [With such irresistible evidence before us of the great and rapid progress of abolitionism without the slightest indication of abatement, he is blind who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-calhoun/with-such-irresistible-evidence-before-us-of-the-great-and-rapid/) [John C. Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-calhoun/) ## More Abolitionism quotes > [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Abolitionism did not find positive response in Africa as it did in Western societies and cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/abolitionism-did-not-find-positive-response-in-africa-as-it-did-in/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [We often forget that the women's rights movement actually grew out of the abolition movement. It is really within abolitionism that many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-sinha/we-often-forget-that-the-women-s-rights-movement-actually-grew-out-of/) [Manisha Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-sinha/) > [“Animal welfarism is a blatant lie. Anyone who truly cares for the welfare of another, would never dream of exploiting them. For just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mango-wodzak/animal-welfarism-is-a-blatant-lie-anyone-who-truly-cares-for-the/) [Mango Wodzak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mango-wodzak/) > [ “\[T\]he West did not invent slavery; the West ended slavery.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/t-he-west-did-not-invent-slavery-the-west-ended-slavery/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [“it would have been better never to have made a sacrifice of blood and treasure to save the Union than to have the democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/it-would-have-been-better-never-to-have-made-a-sacrifice-of-blood-and/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [In trying to address the systemic problem of racial injustice, we would do well to look at abolitionism, because here is a movement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-sinha/in-trying-to-address-the-systemic-problem-of-racial-injustice-we/) [Manisha Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-sinha/) > [ “\[Emerson\] saw, in the beginning, no difference between abolitionism and the institutionalized religion he had rejected in the Divinity School address. They were both… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/emerson-saw-in-the-beginning-no-difference-between-abolitionism-and/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Throughout the three decades preceding the Civil War, the anticlerical ethos of the radical abolitionists was used against them by religious opponents of emancipation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/throughout-the-three-decades-preceding-the-civil-war-the-anticlerical/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [With such irresistible evidence before us of the great and rapid progress of abolitionism without the slightest indication of abatement, he is blind who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-calhoun/with-such-irresistible-evidence-before-us-of-the-great-and-rapid/) [John C. Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-calhoun/) [Browse all 11 Abolitionism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake the unfulfilled work of the best of our abolitionist precursors--those who did not only want the abolition of white supremacist slavery and normalized anti-Black violence, but who also recognized that the greatest promise of abolitionism was a comprehensive transformation of a civilization in which the sanctity of white civil society was defined by its capacity to define 'community' and 'safety' through the effective of its ability to wage racial genocides. The present day work of (..) abolition has to proceed with organic recognition of its historical roots in liberation struggles against slavery, colonization, and conquest--and therefore struggle to constantly develop effective, creative, and politically educating forms of radical movement against the genocidal white supremacist state and the society to which it's tethered.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dylan Rodriguez" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-rodriguez/it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-honor-to-undertake-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abolitionism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-rodriguez/it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-honor-to-undertake-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/dylan-rodriguez-159175_abolition-now_it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-ho_1980444.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's both a tremendous obligation and honor to undertake the unfulfilled work of the best of our…” — Dylan Rodriguez", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dylan Rodriguez", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-rodriguez/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's both a tremendous obligation and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-rodriguez/it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-honor-to-undertake-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-rodriguez/it-s-both-a-tremendous-obligation-and-honor-to-undertake-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```