--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Much of what I do now stems from my rage…" description: "\"Much of what I do now stems from my rage at segregation and discrimination. I can't stand to see children not able to do anything, anybody not able to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/marian-wright-edelman-2216_able_much-of-what-i-do-now-stems-from-my-rage_2530682.png" --- # Much of what I do now stems from my rage at segregation… ![“Much of what I do now stems from my rage at segregation and discrimination. I can't stand to see children not able to do anything, anybody not able to do what they can do. The daily lessons of exclusion, having hand-me-down books in schools, of seeing ambulances turn away and not give health care…” quote by Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/marian-wright-edelman-2216_able_much-of-what-i-do-now-stems-from-my-rage_2530682.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/marian-wright-edelman-2216_able_much-of-what-i-do-now-stems-from-my-rage_2530682.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/marian-wright-edelman-2216_able_much-of-what-i-do-now-stems-from-my-rage_2530682.png) > “Much of what I do now stems from my rage at segregation and discrimination. I can't stand to see children not able to do anything, anybody not able to do what they can do. The daily lessons of exclusion, having hand-me-down books in schools, of seeing ambulances turn away and not give health care for people lying in the streets who are migrant workers. Everything I do today stems from that segregated existence.” [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Her activism is driven by anger at systemic racism and neglect, especially affecting children and migrant workers. **In simple terms:** She fights segregation and discrimination. Key Takeaway Channel anger into advocacy for equity. Themes justice activism inequality education healthcare Mood determined compassionate Type inspirational political When to use this quote - school reform - healthcare access - community organizing - policy change Key Concepts systemic racism social exclusion advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can personal frustration become constructive change? - What systemic barriers persist despite activism? A Different Perspective Personal anger may not translate into effective policy without strategic planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Ambulance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambulance/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Exclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Migrant workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrant-workers/) [Migrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrants/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lie/) [People Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lying/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Rage Segregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage-segregation-1339955/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Segregated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregated/) [Segregated Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregated-existence-1339956/) [Segregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregation/) [Stem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stem/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [Our government has to be held accountable for enforcing the law. 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Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [It is the BJP that made use of YouTubers such as Manish Kashyap to serve their agenda and spread fake news that migrant workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-stalin/it-is-the-bjp-that-made-use-of-youtubers-such-as-manish-kashyap-to/) [M. K. Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-stalin/) > [“As his children, we were treated as some species of migrant workers who happened to be passing through. My father was the only person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/as-his-children-we-were-treated-as-some-species-of-migrant-workers/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [The walk of migrant workers towards their home is a march against the stripping of their democratic rights. With their walk, they are defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravish-kumar/the-walk-of-migrant-workers-towards-their-home-is-a-march-against-the/) [Ravish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravish-kumar/) > [Many governments and corporations take no moral responsibility for the enslavement of migrant workers and freely do business with states built on the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/many-governments-and-corporations-take-no-moral-responsibility-for/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) > [Migration is an opportunity, not a problem. And in the sense that it is an opportunity, it goes on to a bilateral agreement, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/migration-is-an-opportunity-not-a-problem-and-in-the-sense-that-it-is/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [Monsanto doesn't care about feeding the world. We have to think about the wage slavery of migrant workers and salary slavery of those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/monsanto-doesn-t-care-about-feeding-the-world-we-have-to-think-about/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [ No movement calls \[migrant workers\] oppressed for providing money for women from whom they are receiving neither cooking nor cleaning; for providing their wives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/no-movement-calls-migrant-workers-oppressed-for-providing-money-for/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [“Another Mexican American in another class, approaches Victor after class, carrying his copy of Fahrenheit 451, required reading for the course. The student doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-villanueva/another-mexican-american-in-another-class-approaches-victor-after/) [Victor Villanueva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-villanueva/) > [“Growing up with migrant workers, I knew that they usually worked harder than we did. Sometimes my dad and my uncles would hire a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-flake/growing-up-with-migrant-workers-i-knew-that-they-usually-worked/) [Jeff Flake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-flake/) > [“My non American viewers. Who understand that the world does not consist solely of a single nation sailing across an infinite sea of migrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/my-non-american-viewers-who-understand-that-the-world-does-not/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [Whether it is clamping down on tax avoidance by multinationals, setting ambitious targets for tackling climate change, or reforming the posted workers' directive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/whether-it-is-clamping-down-on-tax-avoidance-by-multinationals/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as migrant workers, in the hundreds of thousands, fled the cities on foot, sometimes barefoot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/in-2020-we-saw-the-poorest-indian-citizen-suffer-as-migrant-workers/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) ## More by Marian Wright Edelman > [We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-must-always-refill-and-ensure-there-is-a-critical-mass-of-leaders/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [It is utterly exhausting being Black in America - physically, mentally, and emotionally. While many minority groups and women feel similar stress, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/it-is-utterly-exhausting-being-black-in-america-physically-mentally/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [Justice is not cheap. Justice is not quick. It is not ever finally achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/justice-is-not-cheap-justice-is-not-quick-it-is-not-ever-finally/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [I never thought I was breaking a glass ceiling. I just had to do what I had to do, and it never occurred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/i-never-thought-i-was-breaking-a-glass-ceiling-i-just-had-to-do-what/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [In my generation, we learned how to be leaders by being exposed to and involved with adults who empowered us and gave us a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/in-my-generation-we-learned-how-to-be-leaders-by-being-exposed-to-and/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [The old notion that children are the private property of parents dies very slowly. In reality, no parent raises a child alone. How many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/the-old-notion-that-children-are-the-private-property-of-parents-dies/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children with two-parent families,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/when-jesus-christ-asked-little-children-to-come-to-him-he-didn-t-say/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [“Don’t feel entitled to anything you don’t sweat and struggle for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/don-t-feel-entitled-to-anything-you-don-t-sweat-and-struggle-for/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [You can't tell parents to teach children the value of work when we don't have jobs and the jobs we have don't pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/you-can-t-tell-parents-to-teach-children-the-value-of-work-when-we/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [To all those mothers and fathers who are struggling with teen-agers, I say, just be patient: even though it looks like you can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/to-all-those-mothers-and-fathers-who-are-struggling-with-teen-agers-i/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [It really takes a community to raise children, no matter how much money one has. Nobody can do it well alone. And it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/it-really-takes-a-community-to-raise-children-no-matter-how-much/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [Democracy cannot breathe, indeed will die, if those enjoined to protect it and uphold the laws snuff it out - with no consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/democracy-cannot-breathe-indeed-will-die-if-those-enjoined-to-protect/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [Hunger and malnutrition have devastating consequences for children and have been linked to low birth weight and birth defects, obesity, mental and physical health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/hunger-and-malnutrition-have-devastating-consequences-for-children/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [We're spending, on average, three times more for prison than for public-school pupils. That's the dumbest investment policy. It doesn't make us safer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-re-spending-on-average-three-times-more-for-prison-than-for-public/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [You'd better stay determined, because that's how our ancestors got us where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/you-d-better-stay-determined-because-that-s-how-our-ancestors-got-us/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) [Explore all 179 Marian Wright Edelman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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