--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's you young folks what's going to make…" description: "\"“It's you young folks what's going to make the changes, y'all's the ones. You got to lead and you got to fight and move us all on up a little higher. A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fc/ralph-ellison-2676_change_it-s-you-young-folks-what-s-going-to-mak_2667801.png" --- # It's you young folks what's going to make the changes… ![“It's you young folks what's going to make the changes, y'all's the ones. You got to lead and you got to fight and move us all on up a little higher. And I tell you something else, it's the ones from the South that's got to do it, them what knows the fire and ain't forgot how it burns. Up here too…” quote by Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fc/ralph-ellison-2676_change_it-s-you-young-folks-what-s-going-to-mak_2667801.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fc/ralph-ellison-2676_change_it-s-you-young-folks-what-s-going-to-mak_2667801.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fc/ralph-ellison-2676_change_it-s-you-young-folks-what-s-going-to-mak_2667801.png) > ““It's you young folks what's going to make the changes, y'all's the ones. You got to lead and you got to fight and move us all on up a little higher. And I tell you something else, it's the ones from the South that's got to do it, them what knows the fire and ain't forgot how it burns. Up here too many forgits. They finds a place for themselves and forgits the ones on the bottom. Oh, heap of them talks about doing things, but they done really forgot. No, it's you young ones what has to remember and take the lead.”” [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth must lead change, especially those with lived experience of struggle. **In simple terms:** Young people should drive progress. Key Takeaway Empower the next generation. Themes leadership generational change social justice Mood determined inspirational Type political motivational When to use this quote - grassroots movements - education reform - political campaigns Key Concepts activism community empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can youth gain credibility? - What role do elders play in supporting change? A Different Perspective Older generations may resist youth leadership, causing friction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Doing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-things/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Ones Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ones-remember-644256/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Lead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-lead-1382651/) [Tell Ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-ones-1594142/) [Young Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-folks-1571003/) [Young ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-ones/) ## Related quotes > [“Those liars always forget what they said in their live but others will always remember those who lead them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karineh-g-megerdich/those-liars-always-forget-what-they-said-in-their-live-but-others/) [Karineh G. Megerdich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karineh-g-megerdich/) > [You must always remember that to lead, one must first learn to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-selassie/you-must-always-remember-that-to-lead-one-must-first-learn-to-follow/) [Haile Selassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-selassie/) > [the best lies to tell are the ones people want to believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/the-best-lies-to-tell-are-the-ones-people-want-to-believe/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [I don't look to the negative people because the only people who ever tell you that you can't do something are the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/i-don-t-look-to-the-negative-people-because-the-only-people-who-ever/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [We all need people to tell us that we were the ones who had been deeply wronged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hamilton/we-all-need-people-to-tell-us-that-we-were-the-ones-who-had-been/) [Jane Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hamilton/) > [“Jamie didn't talk to me about the war. Most men don't, who've seen real combat. It's the ones who spent their tours well behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-jordan/jamie-didn-t-talk-to-me-about-the-war-most-men-don-t-who-ve-seen-real/) [Hillary Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-jordan/) > [“we ask users to tell us which ones they want to watch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ask-users-to-tell-us-which-ones-they-want-to-watch/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tell All the ones you love Anything and everything you feel before its too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/tell-all-the-ones-you-love-anything-and-everything-you-feel-before/) [ProudLesbian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proudlesbian/) > [The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/the-easiest-lies-to-tell-are-the-ones-you-want-to-be-true/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [How many great ones may remember'd be, Which in their days most famously did flourish, Of whom no word we hear, nor sign now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/how-many-great-ones-may-remember-d-be-which-in-their-days-most/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [I've always said that the games in November are the ones you remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-corso/i-ve-always-said-that-the-games-in-november-are-the-ones-you-remember/) [Lee Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-corso/) > [“The reasons why we do the things we do will not always be the ones others will remember. Sometimes I think we have children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ay-b-mi-ad-b-y/the-reasons-why-we-do-the-things-we-do-will-not-always-be-the-ones/) [Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ay-b-mi-ad-b-y/) > [We build our lives in moments, and even the ones we can't remember become the story of who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-center/we-build-our-lives-in-moments-and-even-the-ones-we-can-t-remember/) [Katherine Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-center/) > [Peers can be the best teachers, because they're the ones that remember what it's like to not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/peers-can-be-the-best-teachers-because-they-re-the-ones-that-remember/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The stories we hear in our childhood are the ones we remember all our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-stories-we-hear-in-our-childhood-are-the-ones-we-remember-all-our/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Ralph Ellison > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I suspect that all the agony that goes into writing is borne precisely because the writer longs for acceptance-but it must be acceptance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-suspect-that-all-the-agony-that-goes-into-writing-is-borne/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only /they/ were the ones who benefited. And now we start on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/everywhere-i-ve-turned-somebody-has-wanted-to-sacrifice-me-for-my-own/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Power, for the writer…lies in his ability to reveal if only a little bit more about the complexity of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/power-for-the-writer-lies-in-his-ability-to-reveal-if-only-a-little/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [...and yet I am what they think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-yet-i-am-what-they-think-i-am/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And while the ice was melting to form a flood in which I threatened to drown I awoke one afternoon to find that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-while-the-ice-was-melting-to-form-a-flood-in-which-i-threatened/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Do they come to bury the others or to be entombed to give life or to receive it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/do-they-come-to-bury-the-others-or-to-be-entombed-to-give-life-or-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“They could laugh at him but they couldn't ignore him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/they-could-laugh-at-him-but-they-couldn-t-ignore-him/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Commercial rock 'n' roll music is a brutalization of the stream of contemporary Negro church music an obscene looting of a cultural expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/commercial-rock-n-roll-music-is-a-brutalization-of-the-stream-of/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“All dreamers and sleepwalkers must pay the price, and even the invisible victim is responsible for the fate of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/all-dreamers-and-sleepwalkers-must-pay-the-price-and-even-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Those two spots are among the darkest of our whole civilization--pardon me, our whole culture (an important distinction, I've heard)--which might sound like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/those-two-spots-are-among-the-darkest-of-our-whole-civilization/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Above the decorous walking around me, sounds of footsteps leaving the verandas of far-flung buildings and moving toward the walks and over the walks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/above-the-decorous-walking-around-me-sounds-of-footsteps-leaving-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-my-problem-was-that-i-always-tried-to-go-in-everyone-s-way-but-my/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-am-one-of-the-most-irresponsible-beings-that-ever-lived/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) [Explore all 154 Ralph Ellison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's you young folks what's going to make the changes, y'all's the ones. 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