--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is a relay of revolutions." description: "\"History is a relay of revolutions.\" — Saul Alinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png" --- # History is a relay of revolutions. ![“History is a relay of revolutions.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png) > “History is a relay of revolutions.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History progresses through successive uprisings that replace old orders with new ones. **In simple terms:** Revolutions drive historical change. Key Takeaway Support grassroots movements for change. Themes politics social change revolution Mood motivational urgent Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - political campaigning - social reform Key Concepts grassroots activism power dynamics historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - How can revolutions be peaceful? - What safeguards prevent new oppression? A Different Perspective Revolutions can cause instability and backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Relay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relay/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) ## Related quotes > [I see History as a relay race in which one of us, before dropping in his tracks, must carry one stage further the challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/i-see-history-as-a-relay-race-in-which-one-of-us-before-dropping-in/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [History respects revolutions; and yet, if a revolution is progressive, support it; if it is reactionary, resist it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/history-respects-revolutions-and-yet-if-a-revolution-is-progressive/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [For this relay there was a little more pressure because it's the 200, you have to make sure you swim it smart. The 100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/for-this-relay-there-was-a-little-more-pressure-because-it-s-the-200/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [I think we're the shortest relay team in history but we're fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-maclean/i-think-we-re-the-shortest-relay-team-in-history-but-we-re-fast/) Brittany MacLean > [Our lives preserved. How it was; and how it be. Passing it along in the relay. That is what I work to do: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/our-lives-preserved-how-it-was-and-how-it-be-passing-it-along-in-the/) [Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/) > [Life isn't a race. It's a relay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/life-isn-t-a-race-it-s-a-relay/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [I'm still an old-school reporter at heart. Writing fiction satisfies my journalistic need to hear and relay the testimony of everyday people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-m-still-an-old-school-reporter-at-heart-writing-fiction-satisfies/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [We are experiencing such large support for the Olympic relay that our advice is to stay in your neighbourhood, stay in your borough and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/we-are-experiencing-such-large-support-for-the-olympic-relay-that-our/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [Every time I score the passion comes out and I try to relay that back to the fans and to the players and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-f-cahill/every-time-i-score-the-passion-comes-out-and-i-try-to-relay-that-back/) [Timothy F. Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-f-cahill/) > [I don't have the identity of any of them. I only had the nicks that they used on Internet Relay Chat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-johansen/i-don-t-have-the-identity-of-any-of-them-i-only-had-the-nicks-that/) Jon Johansen > [One rule I had was make your best pitch and back up third base. That relay might get away and you've got another shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lefty-gomez/one-rule-i-had-was-make-your-best-pitch-and-back-up-third-base-that/) [Lefty Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lefty-gomez/) > [If you botch a handoff or stutter step in a relay, then your team has to make up that lost time. It's always you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-bailey/if-you-botch-a-handoff-or-stutter-step-in-a-relay-then-your-team-has/) [Donovan Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-bailey/) > [I've been amazed by the numbers that have come out to see the torch relay, so being a part of it is lovely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryn-terfel/i-ve-been-amazed-by-the-numbers-that-have-come-out-to-see-the-torch/) [Bryn Terfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryn-terfel/) > [I love watching track and field - the 4x100 relay, the 100-(meter) dash, the 200-(meter) dash. To see what they're able to do, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/i-love-watching-track-and-field-the-4x100-relay-the-100-meter-dash/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [Kindness is like a baton in a relay race, you pass it on when it is passed onto you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/kindness-is-like-a-baton-in-a-relay-race-you-pass-it-on-when-it-is/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is a relay of revolutions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Alinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/saul-alinsky-3048_history_history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions-446058_446058.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is a relay of revolutions.” — Saul Alinsky", "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": "Saul Alinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History is a relay of revolutions.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/history-is-a-relay-of-revolutions/#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 } } ] } ```