Women Born In The 1910s

"It may be that the issues I have raised today as the lone woman here, have been defeated. But one day there shall be many of us standing here and you will listen to our voices then!"

"Famously outspoken, she was known as “the people’s Governor-General” for her warmth, wisdom and kindness."

"As one journalist put it: she was a woman "for all people and the people's governor-general."

"Any one who has ever asked Nita for the telephone number or address of one of her friends soon looks on in amazement at the address book which she produces."

"In spite of international acclaim, she never lost touch with the common people and was greatly loved by Barbadians."

"A Woman's life can really be a succession of lives, each revolving around some emotionally compelling situation or challenge, and each marked off by some intense experience."

"A novelist herself, she always appreciated the cultural aspect of the struggle for liberation and injected her enthusiasm into SACTU activities, whether by organising a '£1-a-Day play' for one of the conferences or merely encouraging African workers to sing freedom songs at social gatherings. Phyllis and other comrades working out of Head Office did a commendable job in coordinating the various strands of SACTU work in Johannesburg until she too was banned from trade union activity in September 1963. Though she continued to assist the organisation, it became virtually impossible and Phyllis Altman left South Africa in 1964 believing she could contribute more from abroad."

"Sometimes I just hear something on the radio, in a conversation, and then it captures my imagination. It then becomes a starting point for a new story. For example, a friend told me one day that she dreamed of ripe fruit. This is how Ripe Fruit became the title of one of my books. When a framed photo of my son fell off the wall one day, the frame broke while the glass remained intact. This gave rise to the short story Glass in the Frame."

"My childhood was full of happiness and fun," Dricky told Naln. "Playing pop, kennetji, horseback riding, and so on were daily entertainments. And in the evening in the shiny, white moonlight, we frolicked on the sand dunes. When the summer days were oppressively hot, I often walked through the green vineyards to the river. Under the shady trees as I gazed across the gently flowing waters to the sand dunes on the other side, which held a wonderful charm for those who knew and loved them, my first imaginary reverie began. In my imagination, I imagined many a Bible story so vividly that I was unaware of my surroundings. Later, I started writing stories, but I was very modest about it and carefully kept them deep away."

"I write recreational reading material because I feel relaxed when I write. I never think about a specific target group or a 'someone', but just write for people."

"My favourite genre remains the short story, although it is the most difficult because one has to be able to say so much with so few words. Writing books is much more difficult than for the radio, but with the radio story you work at a pace again and you simply have to write every day."

"I'm just always writing, I think it's in my system. The time when I was busiest as a principal's wife with three children in the house, I wrote the most. I've wondered a lot how one quits. At a job you retire, but with writing?"

"There's always such a buzz coming over me when I'm on a farm. A farm you have to live. But you can look at the city, you don't have to live it."

"I am a Christian and deeply religious, and life is a lot of joy and beautiful things for me. I accept each day as he comes, and try to make the best of it. You don't know in advance what will come your way every day. I trust only in the Lord, because He is always with me and not my strength."

"Writing can't be done for leisure, but for me it's a joy of life and I love writing every day."

"I can write at any time of the day or night. If someone knocks on the door, I can stop typing in the middle of a sentence. I can then sit and chat and when the gas is gone, just resume waar I quit. I don't have to wait for the inspiration or the mood."

"Though her origins were not working class, Phyllis joined the struggle of African workers and always felt privileged that as a White woman she was accepted into SACTU so completely. Like Ray Alexander, this was because Phyllis always elevated the emancipation of Black workers in South Africa above all else."

"In order to prevent the Special Branch from confiscating all copies of SACTU materials, she would periodically send them out of the country to be kept on record elsewhere. Much of the material used in writing this book has been gathered from these sources safely kept outside the borders of Apartheid."

"She was very secretive about the system, using a secret code with her contacts and a system that was difficult to crack. Altman was also able to successfully deflect attempts by South African spy Craig Williamson, to infiltrate IDAF."

"During her time at university, she took part in student demonstrations protesting the "Greyshirts and the bulldozing of Sophiatown." She earned an undergraduate degree and then finished an Honours degree in History before spending a year at the Teachers' Training College in Johannesburg. She was almost expelled from the Teachers' Training College because of her activism, but she graduated and spent three years teaching at "all White schools."

"“Everyone was very kind to me.”"

"Maya Bello-Taylor (Oct 1, 2023) Princess Ademola - the African Princess who served as a nurse during wartime BritainRetrieved Jan 19 2025"

"Ademola's patients apparently called her "fairy" as a term of endearment. "Everyone was very kind to me", she told journalists at the time."

"‘Nurse Ademola’ played an important part in this as a uniquely feminine perspective. It ‘depicted an African nurse at various phases of training at one of the great London hospitals’, it was said to have inspired many African viewers at its screenings across West Africa."

"“Princess Ademola was obviously a strong-minded person. I think any Black woman who came to England at that time, and was successful, should be recognised and applauded. They showed such bravery. She was beautiful, she was a royal, so could perhaps have been anything she wanted to be, but she chose to be a nurse.""

"“Princess Ademola is an historical role model for anyone entering the nursing profession and those who have committed their working lives to caring for others.”"

"A few words to the young women: When you combine a career with raising a family, the family responsibilities generally rest more heavily on you than on your husband, and you may need to proceed more slowly with your career than you would without a family. This may have its good side in that you can save up some interesting and important things to do after your children have left the nest. However, the responsibilities can often be so heavy as to frustrate a woman's career, and a lack of suitable child-care facilities is a major roadblock. To me it is no mystery why there are not more women in leadership positions in science. It has been mentioned that I am the first woman to receive the Howard Vollum Award, and of course I am very proud to be chosen. But when it is no longer considered unusual for a woman to be so honored or to achieve a position of leadership in public life, then we women will know that we have made it."

"A child is a child, but a black child is something special, it is special because it is I, it is you; it is personal."

"Indeed how can they help being so, forced as they are by the present political dispensation to observe us from a distance, which distorts and throws little light on our lives as we live them?"

"According to one of my correspondents, Jessica Mitford was overheard to remark, "I have nothing against undertakers personally. It's just that I wouldn't want one to bury my sister.""

"O grave, where is thy victory? Where, indeed. Many a badly stung survivor, faced with the aftermath of some relative’s funeral, has ruefully concluded that the victory has been won hands down by a funeral establishment."

"The mores that I was used to were neither purely Western nor purely Bantu. We were not ‘black Europeans’, yet I saw how we were not ‘white Bantu’ either."

"I finished university in 1946 and later started working for different agencies within the country and those abroad . This is where I got the opportunity to be known and later start service as a legislator in the Uganda National Assembly."

"It was a wonderful experience for me to have been part of the best schools this country has. By then moving to the best college in the country was so prestigious although it was the sole highest institution of learning we had. As a woman,many people thought it wasn't the best option to join Makerere college but people came to adopt what was available for us all"

"I have paid my dues to Baltimore. I feel I should be regarded not only as (a) wife but as a woman who has used her influence and affluence to better the community in which she lives."

"I should be regarded not only as the wife of Willie Adams but as a woman who has used her influence and affluence to better the community in which she lives."

"The main reason for the restriction of political freedom is [the lack of] social justice."

"Thus began the tragedy of the democratic individual under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Thus ended the age of Awakening and the humanist democratic tendency to defend the common people, to save the working man from physical and spiritual slavery and give him human dignity. Violence and bloodshed came to destroy democracy, with the cruel joy for bloodshed, with force and contempt."

"Thus began the tragedy of the democratic"

"The people who must rule our country must come from the ranks of teachers, doctors, artists. A group of them must travel to every corner of Albania for six months, meet people, get to know their reality, and then sit together and draft a platform. Another group must do the same thing for another six months, and only this way we can have a decent political and economic government program"

"the October Revolution brought new revolutionary ideals that found their way into Albania, and communists’ groups were established, albeit not at a national level,scantily, with unclear and diverse principles."

"I don’t need to be a communist to love my country! I love my country even though I am not a communist. I support its progress. Even though you won the war, even though you won the election, you cannot persecute those who hold different political opinions from yours."

"I do not need to be a communist to love my country! I love my country even though I am not a communist. I want its progress. Even though you won the war, even though you won the elections, you cannot persecute those who hold different political views from you. I think differently from you, but I love my country. I do not apologize because I haven’t done anything wrong."

"Your life's a result of the choices you make,if you don't like your life ,it's time to start making better choices. You can be a complainer or an achiever,but surely,you can't be both. Live your life with a purpose,focus on your achievements instead of your misfortunes. Always be yourself and never wait for someone's approval your mind's a magnet . If you always think of blessings,you attract more blessings. If you always think of problems,you attract more problems; therefore,always keep good thoughts and always stay positive. God has a purpose for your pain,a reason for your struggle and a reward for your faithfulness. Don't give up . Life's too short to keep worrying."

"If you have a strong purpose in life,you don't have to be pushed . Your passion will drive you there."

"Don't worry-Be Happy.You can't be truely happy till you learn to ignore the gossips,empty charter and unkind words hurled at you. See those talks as normal and bound to happen."

"Remember that empty vessels make loud noises.those who have nothing doing,engage themselves with other people's business and issues."

"Learn to disregard the noise and attach your heart to God and those who care about you . Because whatever you do,no matter how you do it it'll attract talks,either positive or negative."

"Give your full attention and concentration to your vision and purpose in and you'll be in a happy state"

"Following in the footsteps of the great Protestant theologian H. Richard Niebuhr and his posthumously published book “The Responsible Self” (1963), one of the most well-known (if controversial) contemporary female Catholic theologians, the late Sister Anne E. Patrick, distinguished two ways of looking at conscience, one passive and one creative. The passive conscience, in the words of Sister Patrick, is the internalized habit of “fulfilling the commonly recognized duties on one’s state in life.” As sons, daughters, parents, spouses, citizens, workers, or devotees of a certain religion we have a certain number of duties our society recognizes, and we have internalized the need to fulfill them. Passive conscience is often bad-mouthed but is also necessary. No society or organization can survive without it. However, passive conscience, while necessary, is not sufficient. …Creative conscience alerts us when following the rules and the orders of the authorities, perhaps even following our long-established habits, would lead to injustice, and we should be brave enough to challenge the usual ways and look for something new."