--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was functioning in a time when people…" description: "\"I was functioning in a time when people were struggling, and they knew they had to struggle, and I was a part of that struggle. It wasn't just women.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/faith-ringgold-17767_knew_i-was-functioning-in-a-time-when-people_1391688.jpg" --- # I was functioning in a time when people were struggling… ![“I was functioning in a time when people were struggling, and they knew they had to struggle, and I was a part of that struggle. It wasn't just women.” quote by Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/faith-ringgold-17767_knew_i-was-functioning-in-a-time-when-people_1391688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/faith-ringgold-17767_knew_i-was-functioning-in-a-time-when-people_1391688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/faith-ringgold-17767_knew_i-was-functioning-in-a-time-when-people_1391688.jpg) > “I was functioning in a time when people were struggling, and they knew they had to struggle, and I was a part of that struggle. It wasn't just women.” [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges being part of a collective struggle, emphasizing that hardship is shared across genders and communities. **In simple terms:** People collectively endure hardship together. Key Takeaway Recognize shared struggles to foster solidarity. Themes solidarity collective struggle gender community Mood empathetic hopeful Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - civil rights activism - women’s rights - labor movements - community organizing Key Concepts social movements historical context personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What common goals unite diverse struggles? - How can personal narratives strengthen movements? A Different Perspective Individual experiences may differ, complicating unity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew/) [Knew Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-struggle-4003846/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-struggling/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-wasn-4852379/) [Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling/) [Struggling Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling-knew-4852378/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [One of my best friends since I was eleven years old is a gay man, and I knew his struggle. 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We're told everything's going bad. There are 5.2 million new jobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/i-ve-never-met-two-guys-who-re-more-down-on-america-across-the-board/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I want to help people struggling with whatever it is they're going through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santan-dave/i-want-to-help-people-struggling-with-whatever-it-is-they-re-going/) [Santan Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santan-dave/) ## More by Faith Ringgold > [I guess I had fun doing it but it has hard memories for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/i-guess-i-had-fun-doing-it-but-it-has-hard-memories-for-me/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [I think I had struck on a combination of imagery and politics that worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/i-think-i-had-struck-on-a-combination-of-imagery-and-politics-that/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [You can't sit around and wait for somebody to say who you are. You need to write it and paint it and do it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/you-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-somebody-to-say-who-you-are-you/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [Every time people struggle, they survive, they do better, and then they forget, and they end up back where they started from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/every-time-people-struggle-they-survive-they-do-better-and-then-they/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [It is so sad that it takes so long for people to understand what needs to happen in order to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/it-is-so-sad-that-it-takes-so-long-for-people-to-understand-what/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [I can recall that nobody ever went out the door that wasn't dressed nicely, even though it was the Depression. 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The next thing you know, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/anyone-can-fly-all-you-need-is-somewhere-to-go-that-you-can-t-get-to/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [I have always wanted to tell my story - or, more to the point, my side of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/i-have-always-wanted-to-tell-my-story-or-more-to-the-point-my-side-of/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [I just feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world being able to do what I love and be able to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/i-just-feel-like-i-m-the-luckiest-person-in-the-world-being-able-to/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [Black women have never embraced feminism. They didn't embrace it in the '50s and '60s; they're not embracing it now. That's not new. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/black-women-have-never-embraced-feminism-they-didn-t-embrace-it-in/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [There were a lot of stop signs in my life... People telling you what to do, when to do it, and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/there-were-a-lot-of-stop-signs-in-my-life-people-telling-you-what-to/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [There were people who would complain about their jobs, and my mother would walk away from that job. 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