"There’s power in naming our heroes and lifting them up. We don’t have many monuments to Black people or women—especially Black women—like, anywhere. If it weren’t significant, then it wouldn’t be an issue, right? I remember when people were like, “Oh, don’t just put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill—what is that doing? How does that address capitalism?” That’s true, but at the same time, if it didn’t have any power, then they wouldn’t have any problem with doing it. The reason that they don’t do that is because they don’t want people thinking about this revolutionary figure. Imagine if every time you saw a $20 bill, you saw Harriet Tubman and you’re reminded of slavery. You’re reminded of how we’re still struggling. There’s value in it, but I don’t want us to over-prioritize that above addressing the material conditions of our people—because, again, what the establishment will do is say, “OK, yeah, we’re going to take down a Columbus statue, put up a Harriet Tubman statue, take down this statue, put up a Frederick Douglass statue,” [and] that will become the project while people are still homeless. People are still not going to have living wages, and that [ends up] becoming the new neoliberal project."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Civil rights activistsFilm directors from the United StatesWomen activists from the United States20th-century African-American women21st-century African-American women
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bree_Newsome
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bree Newsome
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bree Newsome →
Related Quotes
"Instead of framing the issue as “progressives v moderates”, the focus should be on what makes the American system of …"
"We must overthrow the election & support the Trump dictatorship! -1/2 of Republicans. No, that's going too far! We mu…"
"Amazing how quickly those thin blue line flags turned into weapons against the police, almost like the only true ideo…"
"When can we stop being surprised that white supremacists are the most violent element in America and actually address…"
"Y'all the issue is whiteness. You can try to cut it all these different ways. But the common denominator, through-lin…"
"Ppl seem to operate under the false assumption that the majority of Americans are on the side of equality & progress …"
"The casual nature with which they replay the murder video at all hours of the day on tv says so much about the entire…"
"If you’re trying to find your entry point to the modern movement, I encourage you to identify what issue you’re most …"
"I believed strongly in being an engaged citizen and had a certain level of social and political awareness, but my und…"
"Notice how all the labor considered feminine is also expected to be free or low cost"