--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were these great women in…" description: "\"There were these great women in Montgomery, [Rosa Louise] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson [who organized the bus boycott] was among them. It's al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png" --- # There were these great women in Montgomery, \[Rosa Louise\]… ![“There were these great women in Montgomery, [Rosa Louise] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson [who organized the bus boycott] was among them. It's always these ordinary women and men of grace who have been waiting and seething and planning to change things that are unjust that bring movement.” quote by Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png) > “There were these great women in Montgomery, \[Rosa Louise\] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson \[who organized the bus boycott\] was among them. It's always these ordinary women and men of grace who have been waiting and seething and planning to change things that are unjust that bring movement.” [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. Ordinary people of moral courage plan and enact social change against injustice. **In simple terms:** Every people can spark movements. Key Takeaway Empower everyday activists. Themes courage justice grassroots leadership Mood inspirational hopeful Type historical motivational When to use this quote - community organizing - voting rights campaigns - peaceful protests - policy advocacy Key Concepts civil rights collective action social change Questions to Reflect On - Who in your community can you support? - What injustices need addressing? A Different Perspective Change also needs structural support and resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycott/) [Boycott Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycott-ordinary-2135029/) [Bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus/) [Bus Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus-boycott-225658/) [Change things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-things/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Great women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-women/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Jo Ann Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jo-ann-robinson-220789/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montgomery/) [Montgomery Rosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montgomery-rosa-2135028/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parks/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Rosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rosa/) [Seething](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seething/) [Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Women Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-montgomery-2135027/) ## Related quotes > [“There are, of course, numerous and complex reasons why the Montgomery bus boycott succeeded and why it became the spark for a movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/there-are-of-course-numerous-and-complex-reasons-why-the-montgomery/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [I think the Montgomery bus boycott initiated an era of self-determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lowery/i-think-the-montgomery-bus-boycott-initiated-an-era-of-self/) [Joseph Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lowery/) > [During the bus boycott, I was tested by fire, and I came to understand that I was not a breakable crystal figurine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coretta-scott-king/during-the-bus-boycott-i-was-tested-by-fire-and-i-came-to-understand/) [Coretta Scott King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coretta-scott-king/) > [The Montgomery Bus Boycott began in December 1955, and by 1956 NAACP leaders came to me and asked me to be part of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudette-colvin/the-montgomery-bus-boycott-began-in-december-1955-and-by-1956-naacp/) [Claudette Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudette-colvin/) > [You probably know the name of Rosa Parks. You probably know that her refusal to move to the colored section in the back of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/you-probably-know-the-name-of-rosa-parks-you-probably-know-that-her/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) > [History shows that all protest movements rely on symbols - boycotts, strikes, sit-ins, flags, songs. Symbolic action on whatever scale - from the Montgomery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/history-shows-that-all-protest-movements-rely-on-symbols-boycotts/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [No, we don't accomplish our love in a single year as the flowers do; an immemorial sap flows up through our arms when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/no-we-don-t-accomplish-our-love-in-a-single-year-as-the-flowers-do-an/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [The lancet fluke (Dicrocoelium) infects the brain of ants by taking control and driving them to climb to the top of a blade of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrel-ray/the-lancet-fluke-dicrocoelium-infects-the-brain-of-ants-by-taking/) [Darrel Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrel-ray/) > [“Even if there are moments during the day when all seems normal and when every action of your own and of those around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/even-if-there-are-moments-during-the-day-when-all-seems-normal-and/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Be like the rocky headland on which the waves constantly break. It stands firm, and round it the seething waters are laid to rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/be-like-the-rocky-headland-on-which-the-waves-constantly-break-it/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Golf cannot be played in anger, or in any mood of emotiional excess. Half the golf balls struck by amateurs are hit if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-plimpton/golf-cannot-be-played-in-anger-or-in-any-mood-of-emotiional-excess/) [George Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-plimpton/) > [As Steve draws me closer to the band, all I can see is a frenzied mass of seething, writhing people, like a many-headed sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/as-steve-draws-me-closer-to-the-band-all-i-can-see-is-a-frenzied-mass/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [The Enormous Room seems to me to be the book that has nearest approached the mood of reckless adventure in which men will reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-enormous-room-seems-to-me-to-be-the-book-that-has-nearest/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [It may look as though two chess players are sitting at the board peacefully calculating possibilities, but in actuality they are seething with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankarananda/it-may-look-as-though-two-chess-players-are-sitting-at-the-board/) [Shankarananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankarananda/) > [My photographs are not pure: they are a seething wealth of imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/my-photographs-are-not-pure-they-are-a-seething-wealth-of-imperfection/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) ## 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 Boycott quotes > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We shall strike. We shall organize boycotts. We shall demonstrate and have political campaigns. We shall pursue the revolution we have proposed. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-shall-strike-we-shall-organize-boycotts-we-shall-demonstrate-and/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [When I was teaching at an institution that bent over backward for foreign students, I was asked in class one day: "What is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-i-was-teaching-at-an-institution-that-bent-over-backward-for/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you want to boycott Israel because of Palestine, I don't think you actually care, because you're also boycotting 2 million Muslim Palestinian Israelis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuseir-yassin/if-you-want-to-boycott-israel-because-of-palestine-i-don-t-think-you/) [Nuseir Yassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuseir-yassin/) > [Well, I certainly hope the Democrats participate. I continue to think that some things transcend politics like the murder of four of our fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/well-i-certainly-hope-the-democrats-participate-i-continue-to-think/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [I support the boycott because I do not think at this stage there is any other way to make our authorities see and understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yekaterina-samutsevich/i-support-the-boycott-because-i-do-not-think-at-this-stage-there-is/) [Yekaterina Samutsevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yekaterina-samutsevich/) > [Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline. If only we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/six-imams-removed-from-a-us-airways-flight-from-minneapolis-to/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Americans should boycott Yahoo products until they get the message that freedom is an American ideal, and we're not going to give it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shervin-pishevar/americans-should-boycott-yahoo-products-until-they-get-the-message/) [Shervin Pishevar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shervin-pishevar/) > [ \[Boycott Oscar\] is like crying about not having enough icing on your cake. It's just ridiculous. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/boycott-oscar-is-like-crying-about-not-having-enough-icing-on-your/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [I'm not encouraging massive boycotts of turning off the news. That's what the left does. I'm just telling you my own personal experience. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-not-encouraging-massive-boycotts-of-turning-off-the-news-that-s/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The road to social justice for the farm worker is the road of unionization. Our cause, our strike against table grapes and our international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-road-to-social-justice-for-the-farm-worker-is-the-road-of/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [I believe boycotts are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/i-believe-boycotts-are-wrong/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [I believe that the boycott that we have against Cuba is counterproductive, and it also makes the twelve million or so Cuban people suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-believe-that-the-boycott-that-we-have-against-cuba-is/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Hamas, the opponents of Arafat, the opponents of peace, urged a boycott of the election, and yet there was an 85 percent turnout where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-christopher/hamas-the-opponents-of-arafat-the-opponents-of-peace-urged-a-boycott/) [Warren Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-christopher/) [Browse all 137 Boycott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycott/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were these great women in Montgomery, [Rosa Louise] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson [who organized the bus boycott] was among them. It's always these ordinary women and men of grace who have been waiting and seething and planning to change things that are unjust that bring movement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marian Wright Edelman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/there-were-these-great-women-in-montgomery-rosa-louise-parks-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boycott" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/there-were-these-great-women-in-montgomery-rosa-louise-parks-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/marian-wright-edelman-2216_boycott_there-were-these-great-women-in-montgome_1813459.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were these great women in Montgomery, [Rosa Louise] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson [who…” — Marian Wright Edelman", "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": "Marian Wright Edelman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There were these great women in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/there-were-these-great-women-in-montgomery-rosa-louise-parks-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/there-were-these-great-women-in-montgomery-rosa-louise-parks-was/#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 } } ] } ```