audre lorde

“ I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so maybe I can destroy you. Must destroy you? ”

“ We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired. ”

“ But, on the other hand, I get bored with racism too and recognize that there are still many things to be said about a Black person and a White person loving each other in a racist society. ”

“ What better way is there to police the streets of a minority community than to turn one generation against the other? ”

“ I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. ”

“ I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness. ”

“ We cannot continue to evade each other on the deepest levels because we fear each other's angers, nor continue to believe that respect means never looking directly nor with openness into another Black woman's eyes. ”

“ Without community, there is no liberation. ”

“ It is not the destiny of Black America to repeat white America's mistakes. But we will, if we mistake the trappings of success in a sick society for the signs of a meaningful life. ”

“ Tenses are a way of ordering the chaos around time. ”