--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel like if I'm going to be a…" description: "\"I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who represents the South Bronx, I have to be the most visible and vocal champion of the urban poor and of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg" --- # I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who… ![“I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who represents the South Bronx, I have to be the most visible and vocal champion of the urban poor and of working people.” quote by Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg) > “I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who represents the South Bronx, I have to be the most visible and vocal champion of the urban poor and of working people.” [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Representing the South Bronx demands visible advocacy for the urban poor and working class. **In simple terms:** Must be a visible champion for the urban poor. Key Takeaway Prioritize visibility and vocal advocacy for marginalized communities. Themes advocacy representation urban issues Mood determined empathetic Type political inspirational When to use this quote - community town halls - policy proposals - media appearances Key Concepts political science social justice Questions to Reflect On - How will you ensure advocacy leads to concrete change? - What measures track effectiveness of representation? A Different Perspective Visibility alone may not translate to policy impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bronx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronx/) [Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champion/) [Congressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Working people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-people/) ## Related quotes > [I am the only Republican Congressman who represents a borough within New York City, a city of 8.5 million people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grimm/i-am-the-only-republican-congressman-who-represents-a-borough-within/) [Michael Grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grimm/) > [The habit of going to your congressman's town hall and asking questions, that's powerful in a way that shouting slogans or getting arrested is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/the-habit-of-going-to-your-congressman-s-town-hall-and-asking/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [Communities of color, like the South Bronx, have long been exposed to elevated levels of air pollution that gravely impact all aspects of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/communities-of-color-like-the-south-bronx-have-long-been-exposed-to/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [The South Bronx has long lacked high-quality park space for recreation and community gathering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/the-south-bronx-has-long-lacked-high-quality-park-space-for/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [The South Bronx has long been ground zero for racially concentrated poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/the-south-bronx-has-long-been-ground-zero-for-racially-concentrated/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Most of the people in the South Bronx are practical rather than ideological. Their concerns are bread and butter, health and housing, schools and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/most-of-the-people-in-the-south-bronx-are-practical-rather-than/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Prior to Katrina, the South Bronx and New Orleans' Ninth Ward had a lot in common. Both were largely populated by poor people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majora-carter/prior-to-katrina-the-south-bronx-and-new-orleans-ninth-ward-had-a-lot/) [Majora Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majora-carter/) > [In many of the high schools in the South Bronx, more children will end up in prison than will go to college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/in-many-of-the-high-schools-in-the-south-bronx-more-children-will-end/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [I grew up in the South Bronx in the 1970s. My dad worked in IT, and my mom was a teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunny-hostin/i-grew-up-in-the-south-bronx-in-the-1970s-my-dad-worked-in-it-and-my/) [Sunny Hostin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunny-hostin/) > [I was from a poor Jewish family in the South Bronx. My father was a plumber, but when I was 16, he got sick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-susskind/i-was-from-a-poor-jewish-family-in-the-south-bronx-my-father-was-a/) [Leonard Susskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-susskind/) > [I don't need bodyguards. I'm from the South Bronx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-don-t-need-bodyguards-i-m-from-the-south-bronx/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [I wasn't born to a wealthy or powerful family - mother from Puerto Rico, dad from the South Bronx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-wasn-t-born-to-a-wealthy-or-powerful-family-mother-from-puerto-rico/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [If you grow up in the South Bronx today or in south-central Los Angeles or Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, you quickly come to understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/if-you-grow-up-in-the-south-bronx-today-or-in-south-central-los/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [I grew up in the South Bronx, raised by my grandmother, who scrapped and scraped to make sure I had a roof over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-bryant/i-grew-up-in-the-south-bronx-raised-by-my-grandmother-who-scrapped/) [Joy Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-bryant/) > [Sustainable South Bronx advocates for environmental justice through sustainable environmental and economic development projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majora-carter/sustainable-south-bronx-advocates-for-environmental-justice-through/) [Majora Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majora-carter/) ## More by Ritchie Torres > [My younger self could not imagine standing on the floor of Congress as a member of Congress voting on legislation that, if enacted, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/my-younger-self-could-not-imagine-standing-on-the-floor-of-congress/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I am both black and Latino - there's no need to artificially barricade one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-am-both-black-and-latino-there-s-no-need-to-artificially-barricade/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I've had to face housing insecurity and food insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-ve-had-to-face-housing-insecurity-and-food-insecurity/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Exercising dominion over Puerto Rico, as the U.S. has done for more than a century - without granting Puerto Ricans the full franchise in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/exercising-dominion-over-puerto-rico-as-the-u-s-has-done-for-more/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I don't hire ideologues or zealots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-don-t-hire-ideologues-or-zealots/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Racial identity is chosen and given. It is as much a product of the world's perception of you as it is of your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/racial-identity-is-chosen-and-given-it-is-as-much-a-product-of-the/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I lived in public housing and had to struggle with depression and substance abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-lived-in-public-housing-and-had-to-struggle-with-depression-and/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [With a multi-billion dollar market capitalization, crypto is here to stay. It's not going anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/with-a-multi-billion-dollar-market-capitalization-crypto-is-here-to/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I spent almost all my life in poverty, raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-spent-almost-all-my-life-in-poverty-raised-by-a-single-mother-who/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I'm grateful for the blessing and burden of public service; I promised my constituents that I would work my heart out for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-m-grateful-for-the-blessing-and-burden-of-public-service-i-promised/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I take an expansive view of infrastructure. For me, infrastructure is more than roads and bridges. It's about the quality of the water we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-take-an-expansive-view-of-infrastructure-for-me-infrastructure-is/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [New York City should and must embrace crypto if it is to remain the financial capital of the world. We no longer live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/new-york-city-should-and-must-embrace-crypto-if-it-is-to-remain-the/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I feel no shame in admitting that I take an antidepressant every day. That enables me to be a productive public servant who's risen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-no-shame-in-admitting-that-i-take-an-antidepressant-every-day/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [There's a sense in which the media narrative diminishes me. I resist the temptation to fit into a preconceived narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/there-s-a-sense-in-which-the-media-narrative-diminishes-me-i-resist/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [My openness about depression is rooted in my lived experience as an LGBTQ person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/my-openness-about-depression-is-rooted-in-my-lived-experience-as-an/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) [Explore all 99 Ritchie Torres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) ## More Bronx quotes > [My own style influences have to do with where I grew up, in the Bronx, and I still like to wear bangles and big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/my-own-style-influences-have-to-do-with-where-i-grew-up-in-the-bronx/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [God...my self in the Bronx always says that God has a funny sense of humor. ..He has a way of treating things, he deals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachi-martin/god-my-self-in-the-bronx-always-says-that-god-has-a-funny-sense-of/) [Malachi Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachi-martin/) > [I'm just a simple Jewish boy from the Bronx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/i-m-just-a-simple-jewish-boy-from-the-bronx/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [I am born and raised in the Bronx. Where I grew up, it is a really working-class neighborhood and it does give you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-buono/i-am-born-and-raised-in-the-bronx-where-i-grew-up-it-is-a-really/) [Cara Buono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-buono/) > [Prior to Katrina, the South Bronx and New Orleans' Ninth Ward had a lot in common. Both were largely populated by poor people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majora-carter/prior-to-katrina-the-south-bronx-and-new-orleans-ninth-ward-had-a-lot/) [Majora Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majora-carter/) > [We make decisions every day about what we're going to eat. And some people want to buy Nike shoes - two pairs, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/we-make-decisions-every-day-about-what-we-re-going-to-eat-and-some/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [“…but because they felt the neighborhood was safer than the one around Columbia, the medical campus of which was so far north that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-au/but-because-they-felt-the-neighborhood-was-safer-than-the-one-around/) Michelle Au > [“We were always driven by a gray-haired man in the foster-care agency car. I remember leaving that abusive home, pulling out of the driveway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-black/we-were-always-driven-by-a-gray-haired-man-in-the-foster-care-agency/) [Damien Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-black/) > [It's like hip hop all over again, back in the '70s back in the Bronx, when it was just bubbling. But it's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fat-joe/it-s-like-hip-hop-all-over-again-back-in-the-70s-back-in-the-bronx/) [Fat Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fat-joe/) > [As a little kid, I watched hip hop get created. So it's an honour for me to represent the Bronx, the motherland of hip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fat-joe/as-a-little-kid-i-watched-hip-hop-get-created-so-it-s-an-honour-for/) [Fat Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fat-joe/) > [Until I carried my wife off to New Hampshire, she defined wilderness as the Bronx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/until-i-carried-my-wife-off-to-new-hampshire-she-defined-wilderness/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The rabbi glanced over glumly from behind the jail bars. 'My faith in God is fine,' he said. 'It's people I'm not so sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fliegel/the-rabbi-glanced-over-glumly-from-behind-the-jail-bars-my-faith-in/) Richard Fliegel > [I was born and raised in the Bronx, and growing up here, you would go down the block, and on one corner you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romeo-santos/i-was-born-and-raised-in-the-bronx-and-growing-up-here-you-would-go/) [Romeo Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romeo-santos/) > [Remy Ma is from the Bronx and I'm from the Bronx. The stories in her music are similar to what I've experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-mena/remy-ma-is-from-the-bronx-and-i-m-from-the-bronx-the-stories-in-her/) [Erica Mena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-mena/) [Browse all 182 Bronx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronx/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who represents the South Bronx, I have to be the most visible and vocal champion of the urban poor and of working people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ritchie Torres" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congressman-who-represents-the-south/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bronx" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congressman-who-represents-the-south/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/ritchie-torres-6334_champion_i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congres_1669872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I feel like if I'm going to be a congressman who represents the South Bronx, I have to be the most visible…” — Ritchie Torres", "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": "Ritchie Torres", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I feel like if I'm going...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congressman-who-represents-the-south/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-like-if-i-m-going-to-be-a-congressman-who-represents-the-south/#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 } } ] } ```