--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people must know before they can act…" description: "\"The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.\" — Ida B. Wells" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/ida-b-wells-16137_compare_the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act_307832.jpg" --- # The people must know before they can act, and there is no… ![“The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.” quote by Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/ida-b-wells-16137_compare_the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act_307832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/ida-b-wells-16137_compare_the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act_307832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/ida-b-wells-16137_compare_the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act_307832.jpg) > “The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.” [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The public must be informed before they can take effective action, and the press is the most powerful educator. **In simple terms:** People need information to act; the press educates. Key Takeaway Seek reliable news sources. Themes information action media education Mood concerned informed Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - policy advocacy - personal decision making Key Concepts journalism public sphere empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify the credibility of news? - What role should media play in democracy? A Different Perspective The press can also mislead, so critical thinking is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Educator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educator/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [It needs more than ever to be stressed that the best and truest educators are parents under God. The greatest school is the family.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/it-needs-more-than-ever-to-be-stressed-that-the-best-and-truest/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [You know how they do, how they act. See you with another man and they want you back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina/you-know-how-they-do-how-they-act-see-you-with-another-man-and-they/) [Trina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina/) > [We are not put into this world to sit still and know; we are put into it to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-not-put-into-this-world-to-sit-still-and-know-we-are-put-into/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I know what an Act to make things simpler means. It means that the people who drew it up don't understand it themselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-know-what-an-act-to-make-things-simpler-means-it-means-that-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Do you really want to know who you are ? Act , because acts will define who you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-really-want-to-know-who-you-are-act-because-acts-will-define/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know I can act and it doesn't matter where you come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-kodjoe/i-know-i-can-act-and-it-doesn-t-matter-where-you-come-from/) [Boris Kodjoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-kodjoe/) > [I only know how to act. I don't know anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/i-only-know-how-to-act-i-don-t-know-anything-else/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [I know I can act. There aren't too many other jobs I know how to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-know-i-can-act-there-aren-t-too-many-other-jobs-i-know-how-to-do/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [When someone attacks me, I don't know how to act sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larsa-pippen/when-someone-attacks-me-i-don-t-know-how-to-act-sometimes/) [Larsa Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larsa-pippen/) > [We have to know before we can act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-have-to-know-before-we-can-act/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Actors may know how to act, but a lot of them don't know how to behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/actors-may-know-how-to-act-but-a-lot-of-them-don-t-know-how-to-behave/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I don't know how to put on an act; I always show myself for what I am, in whatever mood I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-know-how-to-put-on-an-act-i-always-show-myself-for-what-i-am/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“People don't want to know. They have to be made to know. Whether they act on what they know is up to them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/people-don-t-want-to-know-they-have-to-be-made-to-know-whether-they/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [I don't know how to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-don-t-know-how-to-act/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [“If those who know why and how neglect to act, those who do not know will act, and the world will continue to flounder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/if-those-who-know-why-and-how-neglect-to-act-those-who-do-not-know/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) ## More by Ida B. Wells > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The white man’s victory soon became complete by fraud, violence, intimidation and murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-white-man-s-victory-soon-became-complete-by-fraud-violence/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Lynching is color line murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/lynching-is-color-line-murder/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/although-lynchings-have-steadily-increased-in-number-and-barbarity/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/in-slave-times-the-negro-was-kept-subservient-and-submissive-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lynching-now-as-we-are-out/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The appeal to the white man's pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-appeal-to-the-white-man-s-pocket-has-ever-been-more-effectual/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race-if-this-work-can-contribute/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I had an instinctive feeling that the people who have little or no school training should have something coming into their homes weekly which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-had-an-instinctive-feeling-that-the-people-who-have-little-or-no/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Thus lynch law held sway in the far West until civilization spread into the Territories and the orderly processes of law took its place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/thus-lynch-law-held-sway-in-the-far-west-until-civilization-spread/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Virtue knows no color line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/virtue-knows-no-color-line/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The doors of churches, hotels, concert halls and reading rooms are alike closed against the Negro as a man, but every place is open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-doors-of-churches-hotels-concert-halls-and-reading-rooms-are/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The alleged menace of universal suffrage having been avoided by the absolute suppression of the negro vote, the spirit of mob murder should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-alleged-menace-of-universal-suffrage-having-been-avoided-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I am only a mouthpiece through which to tell the story of lynching and I have told it so often that I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-am-only-a-mouthpiece-through-which-to-tell-the-story-of-lynching/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Our country's national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/our-country-s-national-crime-is-lynching-it-is-not-the-creature-of-an/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) [Explore all 40 Ida B. Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## More Compare quotes > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [I think, however, that Astaire's coordination is better than Kelly's... his sense of rhythm is uncanny. 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Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Nothing will kill what you've been called to do more than comparing yourself to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/nothing-will-kill-what-you-ve-been-called-to-do-more-than-comparing/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [Don't compare your career to anyone else's. It's tough when you're in a business that's competitive. 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