--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We came in as organizers before creating…" description: "\"We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg" --- # We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives… ![“We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and philosophers, so we actually have a lot ideas and a lot of really thought out strategies.” quote by Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg) > “We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and philosophers, so we actually have a lot ideas and a lot of really thought out strategies.” [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Activists must continually strategize and think philosophically, generating ideas and detailed plans for movements. **In simple terms:** Activism requires ongoing strategic thinking. Key Takeaway Keep refining strategies and ideas. Themes activism strategy philosophy organization Mood determined strategic Type practical motivational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - campaign planning Key Concepts Social movement theory collective action Questions to Reflect On - What balance between planning and action works for you? - How do you ensure ideas translate to impact? A Different Perspective Overplanning can stall action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black lives matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-lives-matter/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Organizers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizers/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of organizers tell me that while they are making signs or doing whatever they do, they are listening to the Coup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/a-lot-of-organizers-tell-me-that-while-they-are-making-signs-or-doing/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [We actually know that all lives do matter. And we believe it is so much so that we had to create Black Lives Matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-actually-know-that-all-lives-do-matter-and-we-believe-it-is-so/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Black people, we are fully deserving of the room and space to fully express our humanity. This is what Black Lives Matter is truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-people-we-are-fully-deserving-of-the-room-and-space-to-fully/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I try to find creative ways to put ideas out to make the ground fertile for organizers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/i-try-to-find-creative-ways-to-put-ideas-out-to-make-the-ground/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [If black lives mattered, I believe that policing and immigration enforcement would not be the devastating force that it is in our communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/if-black-lives-mattered-i-believe-that-policing-and-immigration/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Black Lives Matter has been viral, and people are taking it, appropriating it, and using it however they see fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-lives-matter-has-been-viral-and-people-are-taking-it/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Black Lives Matter is really an affirmation for our people. It's a love note for our people, but it's also a demand. We know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-lives-matter-is-really-an-affirmation-for-our-people-it-s-a/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [When we say 'Black Lives Matter,' we're not saying that any other life doesn't matter. That has never, ever been our message. Our message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/when-we-say-black-lives-matter-we-re-not-saying-that-any-other-life/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [“Community organizers, whose entire goal is to move people to action, know that for our interest to be sustainable it has to be linked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shasta-nelson/community-organizers-whose-entire-goal-is-to-move-people-to-action/) [Shasta Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shasta-nelson/) > [We live in an experience-hungry society with advanced event technology and broad social reach at our fingertips. These external factors offers an ideal environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartz/we-live-in-an-experience-hungry-society-with-advanced-event/) [Julia Hartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartz/) > [The organizers first job is to create the issues or problems, and organizations must be based on many issues. The organizer must first rub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizers-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or-problems-and/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [“So many people think that they are not gifted because they don’t have an obvious talent that people can recognize because it doesn’t fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/so-many-people-think-that-they-are-not-gifted-because-they-don-t-have/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“There is an old saying that every story, even your own, is either happy or sad depending on where you stop telling it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiley-cash/there-is-an-old-saying-that-every-story-even-your-own-is-either-happy/) [Wiley Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiley-cash/) > [Black immigrants and refugees have just as much at stake in the fight to make Black Lives Matter as African Americans do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-immigrants-and-refugees-have-just-as-much-at-stake-in-the-fight/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I was in awe of previous black liberation struggle leaders - Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells. I wanted to be part of something bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-was-in-awe-of-previous-black-liberation-struggle-leaders-sojourner/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## More by Opal Tometi > [There are always groups on campus that are doing amazing things. I know when I was in college, I was a student at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/there-are-always-groups-on-campus-that-are-doing-amazing-things-i/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Let's demonstrate, illustrate, the ways in which our communities are being undermined time and time again, and make sure that the broader public and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/let-s-demonstrate-illustrate-the-ways-in-which-our-communities-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Being in the immigrant rights space, I've heard a lot of transactional talk with questions like, 'When will black people show up for immigrants?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/being-in-the-immigrant-rights-space-i-ve-heard-a-lot-of-transactional/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Our communities are reeling from poverty, from unemployment, from discrimination of all sorts and different interactions that they're having with the law enforcement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/our-communities-are-reeling-from-poverty-from-unemployment-from/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Antiblack racism is not only happening in the United States. It's actually happening all across the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/antiblack-racism-is-not-only-happening-in-the-united-states-it-s/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I'm really looking for an agenda that looks at safety for our communities beyond policing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-m-really-looking-for-an-agenda-that-looks-at-safety-for-our/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I just look back at my time in college and think about how much my community activism and my work in neighborhoods really informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-just-look-back-at-my-time-in-college-and-think-about-how-much-my/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Trump's racism has clearly driven his policy decisions during his first year in office - from his Muslim ban and his despicable treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/trump-s-racism-has-clearly-driven-his-policy-decisions-during-his/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I have two younger brothers, and I know my parents have spoken to them about driving and interacting with police. They didn't have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-have-two-younger-brothers-and-i-know-my-parents-have-spoken-to-them/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Lean into your curiosity about any issue, and there will likely be people to share a little bit more of their knowledge and insight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/lean-into-your-curiosity-about-any-issue-and-there-will-likely-be/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [We can't continue to sit on our hands and sit idly by as people are being brutalized, disenfranchised, and left out of the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-can-t-continue-to-sit-on-our-hands-and-sit-idly-by-as-people-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Far from ending, systemic racism reinvents itself to conform to what is publically acceptable, leaving the quality of black life diminished and more permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/far-from-ending-systemic-racism-reinvents-itself-to-conform-to-what/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Some of us have held the hands of friends or brothers as they struggled with military and police academy recruiters, and though many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/some-of-us-have-held-the-hands-of-friends-or-brothers-as-they/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Only when the oppressed are heard can we have an honest solutions based dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/only-when-the-oppressed-are-heard-can-we-have-an-honest-solutions/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nation-black-people-who-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) [Explore all 75 Opal Tometi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and philosophers, so we actually have a lot ideas and a lot of really thought out strategies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Opal Tometi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating-the-black-lives-matter/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating-the-black-lives-matter/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/opal-tometi-9098_black_we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating_2475540.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still…” — Opal Tometi", "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": "Opal Tometi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We came in as organizers before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating-the-black-lives-matter/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-came-in-as-organizers-before-creating-the-black-lives-matter/#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 } } ] } ```