---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that we need to think very…"
description: "\"I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about building either a new party or a new movement th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png"
---

#  I believe that we need to think very seriously…

![“I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about building either a new party or a new movement that can hold the Democratic Party accountable or provide a meaningful alternative.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png)

> “I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about building either a new party or a new movement that can hold the Democratic Party accountable or provide a meaningful alternative.”

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

She urges people of color and progressives to form a new political entity or movement that can hold the Democratic Party accountable or offer a real alternative.

**In simple terms:** Build a new party or movement for accountability and change.

Key Takeaway

Organize a viable alternative to the current party.

Themes

politics accountability representation

Mood

hopeful urgent

Type

strategic inspirational

When to use this quote

- elections
- policy advocacy
- community organizing

Key Concepts

party formation grassroots activism strategic planning

Questions to Reflect On

- What would a truly accountable party look like?
- How can diverse groups unite under a new movement?

A Different Perspective

Existing party structures may resist change, making new movements difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Democratic party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-party/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/)

## Related quotes

> [What the hell is the sense of trying to hold the Democratic party together, if it's really a party of expediency, something that's put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/what-the-hell-is-the-sense-of-trying-to-hold-the-democratic-party/)

[Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/)

> [I am inclined to believe that it would be easier to build a new party than to save the Democratic Party from itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-am-inclined-to-believe-that-it-would-be-easier-to-build-a-new-party/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [It is the transcendent (or 'abstract' or 'self-contained') nature of music that the new so called concretism--Pop Art, eighteen-hour slices-of-reality films, musique concrete--opposes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/it-is-the-transcendent-or-abstract-or-self-contained-nature-of-music/)

[Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/)

> [The vitality of a new movement in Art must be gauged by the fury it arouses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/the-vitality-of-a-new-movement-in-art-must-be-gauged-by-the-fury-it/)

[Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/)

> [I believe the American people have the capacity to create a new movement, which would change the direction of our nation from being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-believe-the-american-people-have-the-capacity-to-create-a-new/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [I've had enough of the bleak headlines and divisive politics, dark TV dramas and hate-filled social media. I'm embracing a new movement with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/i-ve-had-enough-of-the-bleak-headlines-and-divisive-politics-dark-tv/)

[Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/)

> [“For the Congregation this new movement involves the danger of learning to think that the Services are done for them; and that their bodily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/for-the-congregation-this-new-movement-involves-the-danger-of/)

[Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/)

> [The anti-Semitism of the new movement was based on religious ideas instead of racial knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-anti-semitism-of-the-new-movement-was-based-on-religious-ideas/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [If a Labour movement, on a bourgeois basis, has hitherto existed in the country where the new movement is awakening it will certainly not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-radek/if-a-labour-movement-on-a-bourgeois-basis-has-hitherto-existed-in-the/)

[Karl Radek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-radek/)

> [Every profound new movement makes a great swing also backwards to some older, half-forgotten way of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/every-profound-new-movement-makes-a-great-swing-also-backwards-to/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [“It was a mistake in the system; perhaps it lay in the precept which until now he had held to be uncontestable, in whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/it-was-a-mistake-in-the-system-perhaps-it-lay-in-the-precept-which/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [It's tougher for me. But I don't think that's imperative to me starting a new movement, or revive an old movement, to help people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/it-s-tougher-for-me-but-i-don-t-think-that-s-imperative-to-me/)

[Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/)

> [Achieving what I set out to do: to feel that I was instrumental in starting a great new movement which could not only change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-watson/achieving-what-i-set-out-to-do-to-feel-that-i-was-instrumental-in/)

[Donald Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-watson/)

> [The elimination of force at all costs is Utopian and the new movement which has arisen in the country and of whose dawn we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/the-elimination-of-force-at-all-costs-is-utopian-and-the-new-movement/)

[Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/)

> [“What kind of party?” “The good kind.” “Yeah, right.” Greta knows that for me there are no good parties. I’m okay with one or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/what-kind-of-party-the-good-kind-yeah-right-greta-knows-that-for-me/)

[Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/)

## More by Michelle Alexander

> [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

[Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

## More Believe quotes

> [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/)

[Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/)

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/)

[Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/)

> [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/)

[Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/)

[Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

> [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

> [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/)

[Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/)

> [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/)

[Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/)

Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about building either a new party or a new movement that can hold the Democratic Party accountable or provide a meaningful alternative.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michelle Alexander"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-seriously-particularly-as-folks/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Believe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-seriously-particularly-as-folks/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/michelle-alexander-750_believe_i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-ser_2518334.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about…” — Michelle Alexander",
                "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": "Michelle Alexander",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I believe that we need to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-seriously-particularly-as-folks/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-that-we-need-to-think-very-seriously-particularly-as-folks/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
