--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those of us who submitted or surrendered…" description: "\"Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png" --- # Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and… ![“Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png) > “Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates reclaiming personal agency after surrendering to authority. **In simple terms:** Regain rights, identity, responsibility. Key Takeaway Take back control of your life. Themes empowerment identity responsibility resistance Mood defiant hopeful Type motivational political When to use this quote - activism - personal development - community organizing Key Concepts selfdetermination political agency psychological autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What rights have you relinquished? - How can you rebuild identity after conformity? A Different Perspective May be idealistic without structural change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas and dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-and-dreams/) [Identities Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identities-leaders-1840298/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leaders Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaders-rights-1840296/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Loving life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-life/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights Identities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-identities-1840297/) [Submitted Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/submitted-surrendered-1840299/) [Surrendered Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrendered-ideas-1840295/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [Because women are more than the people who raise our children, they are fantastic leaders in their own rights in our community, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goodes/because-women-are-more-than-the-people-who-raise-our-children-they/) [Adam Goodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-goodes/) > [When we consider a project, we really study it-not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/when-we-consider-a-project-we-really-study-it-not-just-the-surface/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [If you can dream it, you can make it so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belva-davis/if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-make-it-so/) [Belva Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belva-davis/) > [To laugh is to risk appearing a fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-laugh-is-to-risk-appearing-a-fool-to-weep-is-to-risk-appearing-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How many of us will be saved the pain of seeing the most important things in our lives disappearing from one moment to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/how-many-of-us-will-be-saved-the-pain-of-seeing-the-most-important/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A lot of people have dreams and never do anything about them. When you have ideas and dreams, you do something about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/a-lot-of-people-have-dreams-and-never-do-anything-about-them-when-you/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [I never know what my next move will be in Hollywood. It's such an unpredictable town. People get jaded and lost and I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/i-never-know-what-my-next-move-will-be-in-hollywood-it-s-such-an/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-arthur-porter/the-innovation-point-is-the-pivotal-moment-when-talented-and/) [W. Arthur Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-arthur-porter/) > [These short stories are vast structures existing mostly in the subconscious of our cultural history. They will live with the reader long after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/these-short-stories-are-vast-structures-existing-mostly-in-the/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [To love is to risk not being loved in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/to-love-is-to-risk-not-being-loved-in-return/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Seek the opportunity to act on your ideas and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-arthur-porter/seek-the-opportunity-to-act-on-your-ideas-and-dreams/) [W. Arthur Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-arthur-porter/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Back quotes > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I honestly would like to get that Frankie fight back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/i-honestly-would-like-to-get-that-frankie-fight-back/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [It's what the people wanted at the time, but the country could not be half-segregated and half-integrated, just as it could not be half-slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wallace/it-s-what-the-people-wanted-at-the-time-but-the-country-could-not-be/) [George Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wallace/) > [I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-ve-always-stuck-my-arms-behind-my-back-anyway-when-trying-to-block/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ewing/i-m-sure-at-some-point-i-will-get-back-into-coaching-but-right-now-i/) [Patrick Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ewing/) > [Any time someone achieves success before they've earned it, it always comes back to haunt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/any-time-someone-achieves-success-before-they-ve-earned-it-it-always/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [We're all painfully aware of how suddenly violence can occur, how crippling it is, and how survivors have to find a way back from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/we-re-all-painfully-aware-of-how-suddenly-violence-can-occur-how/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) [Browse all 9,709 Back quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered-our-ideas-and-dreams-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Back" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered-our-ideas-and-dreams-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/maya-angelou-104_back_those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered_2588593.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back…” — Maya Angelou", "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": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those of us who submitted or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered-our-ideas-and-dreams-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/those-of-us-who-submitted-or-surrendered-our-ideas-and-dreams-and/#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 } } ] } ```