--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most activism is brought about by us…" description: "\"Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people.\" — Patricia Hill Collins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg" --- # Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people. ![“Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people.” quote by Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg) > “Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people.” [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) ## 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 drive activism, showing that collective grassroots effort can spark social change. **In simple terms:** Everyday people can be activists. Key Takeaway Act locally, think globally. Themes activism grassroots collective power social justice citizenry Mood inspirational hopeful empowering Type philosophical social motivational When to use this quote - neighborhood meetings - online campaigns - school clubs - local NGOs Key Concepts social movements community organizing everyday resistance Questions to Reflect On - What small action can you take today for change? - How can ordinary voices amplify each other? A Different Perspective May underestimate structural obstacles that limit ordinary impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activism/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Equal protection under the law is not a hard principle to convince Americans of. The difficulty comes in persuading them that it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/equal-protection-under-the-law-is-not-a-hard-principle-to-convince/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [I was brought up in a very ordinary family, in fact, a worker's family. Both my father and mother were ordinary citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-was-brought-up-in-a-very-ordinary-family-in-fact-a-worker-s-family/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [If you spend a lot of time with activists, as I have, they're just ordinary people who instead of Netflix are getting together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-lewis/if-you-spend-a-lot-of-time-with-activists-as-i-have-they-re-just/) [Avi Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-lewis/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Look, I'm not a perfect person. I have my warts. I sometimes say things that get me in trouble. I wear suits that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/look-i-m-not-a-perfect-person-i-have-my-warts-i-sometimes-say-things/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [The vast literature concerning whistleblowers shows that, far from weird extremists, they are really quite ordinary people: male and female, young and old, junior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-vast-literature-concerning-whistleblowers-shows-that-far-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/most-brilliance-arises-from-ordinary-people-working-together-in/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) > [The Constitution was made for ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/the-constitution-was-made-for-ordinary-people/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/i-think-when-ordinary-working-people-come-home-turn-on-the-tv-and-see/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Ordinary people simply don't know what books mean to us, shut up here. Reading, learning, and the radio are our amusements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/ordinary-people-simply-don-t-know-what-books-mean-to-us-shut-up-here/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/ordinary-morality-is-only-for-ordinary-people/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Moses became America's true founding father because he evangelized action; he justified risk. He gave ordinary people the courage to live with uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/moses-became-america-s-true-founding-father-because-he-evangelized/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [My books are about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-robards/my-books-are-about-ordinary-people-caught-up-in-extraordinary/) [Karen Robards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-robards/) ## More by Patricia Hill Collins > [Social conditions that spur large numbers of people into action are ignored in favor of a Hollywood version of history focusing on one conquering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/social-conditions-that-spur-large-numbers-of-people-into-action-are/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Far too many black men who praise their own mother feel less accounted to the mothers of their own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/far-too-many-black-men-who-praise-their-own-mother-feel-less/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [“as social conditions change, so must the knowledge and practices designed to resist them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/as-social-conditions-change-so-must-the-knowledge-and-practices/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [To maintain their power, dominant groups create and maintain a popular system of 'commonsense' ideas that support their right to rule. In the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/to-maintain-their-power-dominant-groups-create-and-maintain-a-popular/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Oppressed groups are frequently placed in the situation of being listened to only if we frame our ideas in the language that is familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/oppressed-groups-are-frequently-placed-in-the-situation-of-being/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [The potential significance of Black feminist thought goes far beyond demonstrating that African-American women can be theorists. Like Black feminist practice, which it reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/the-potential-significance-of-black-feminist-thought-goes-far-beyond/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Work for black women has been an important and valued dimension of Afrocentric definitions of black motherhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/work-for-black-women-has-been-an-important-and-valued-dimension-of/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [“The enemy, however, is not the historically imagined enemy of brown or black youth, more often depicted as America's problem than as its promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/the-enemy-however-is-not-the-historically-imagined-enemy-of-brown-or/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Challenging power structures from the inside, working the cracks within the system, however, requires learning to speak multiple languages of power convincingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/challenging-power-structures-from-the-inside-working-the-cracks/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Under the color-blind ideology of the new racism, Blackness must be SEEN as evidence for the alleged color blindness that seemingly characterizes contemporary economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/under-the-color-blind-ideology-of-the-new-racism-blackness-must-be/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Despite long-standing claims by elites that Blacks, women, Latinos, and other similarly derogated groups in the United States remain incapable of producing the type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/despite-long-standing-claims-by-elites-that-blacks-women-latinos-and/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Knowledge without wisdom is adequate for the powerful, but wisdom is essential to the survival of the subordinate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/knowledge-without-wisdom-is-adequate-for-the-powerful-but-wisdom-is/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Women gain social influence through their roles as mothers, transmitters of culture, and parents for the next generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/women-gain-social-influence-through-their-roles-as-mothers/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/that-which-commands-admiration-in-the-white-woman-only-hastens-the/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [Black women's feelings of responsibility for nurturing the children in their own extended family networks have stimulated a more generalized ethic of care where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/black-women-s-feelings-of-responsibility-for-nurturing-the-children/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) [Explore all 23 Patricia Hill Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) ## More Activism quotes > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“All struggles against oppression in the modern woeld begin by redefining what had previously been consideered private, non-public and non-political issues as matters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyla-benhabib/all-struggles-against-oppression-in-the-modern-woeld-begin-by/) Seyla Benhabib > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-ellis/paul-revere-earned-his-living-as-a-silversmith-but-what-do-we/) Susan J. Ellis > [Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [“The times do not call for grassroots political activism, as if the next election might be enough to reverse a massive cultural earthquake. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-miller/the-times-do-not-call-for-grassroots-political-activism-as-if-the/) Paul D. Miller > [He went to Paris looking for answers to questions that bothered him so. He was impressive, young and aggressive, saving the world on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/he-went-to-paris-looking-for-answers-to-questions-that-bothered-him/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/there-s-a-lot-of-activism-that-doesn-t-deal-with-empowerment-and-you/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [“Until you find a cause you can die for, you are not worthy to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/until-you-find-a-cause-you-can-die-for-you-are-not-worthy-to-live/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [Ya'll know what you need to do? Get together, make a We Are The World record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/ya-ll-know-what-you-need-to-do-get-together-make-a-we-are-the-world/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [“There is no way to tell if we are the pioneers of a visionary new age, whisking humanity into the high vibrations of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-talat-phillips/there-is-no-way-to-tell-if-we-are-the-pioneers-of-a-visionary-new-age/) [Jonathan Talat Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-talat-phillips/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“A spirituality that is only private and self-absorbed, one devoid of an authentic political and social consciousness, does little to halt the suicidal juggernaut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-harvey/a-spirituality-that-is-only-private-and-self-absorbed-one-devoid-of/) [Andrew Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-harvey/) [Browse all 820 Activism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Hill Collins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ordinary-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ordinary-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/patricia-hill-collins-25323_activism_most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ord_1076738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most activism is brought about by us ordinary people.” — Patricia Hill Collins", "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": "Patricia Hill Collins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most activism is brought about by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ordinary-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/most-activism-is-brought-about-by-us-ordinary-people/#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 } } ] } ```