Gordon Parks Quotes

The condition of truth, is to allow suffering to speak. Which means attend to suffering of the least of these, of the orphan, the widow, the poor, the working people, the gay brother, the lesbian sister, the transgender, the black people.

Anywhere where the humanity of people is undermined, anywhere where people are left in the dust, there we will find our cause.

If given a choice, I would have certainly selected to be what I am: one of the oppressed instead of one of the oppressors.

I have spent all my life advocating on behalf of the poor, oppressed and marginalized. As a social justice and human rights activist, and now as President of the Republic of Malawi, I have a deep appreciation for the challenges of those on the margins of society.

For over twenty years, Homeboy Industries has chosen to stand with those on the margins and those whose burdens are more than they can bear; it stands with the poor and the powerless, with the easily-despised and the readily-left out.

It is important to me to keep fighting for the rights of those who cannot.

Oxfam is part of a global movement for social justice. We mainly work to fight for economic and social rights for people without a voice or people who are oppressed.

The camera could be a very powerful instrument against discrimination, against poverty, against racism.

When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.

[As a child] I was very interested in books that detailed injustice and how people who are underdogs were mistreated throughout history.

In the unceasing ebb and flow of justice and oppression we must all dig channels as best we may, that at the propitious moment somewhat of the swelling tide may be conducted to the barren places of life.

I see myself in all the people in the world who are suffering and who are very badly treated and who are often made to feel that they have no place on this Earth.

Speaking out is important for me because everyone should be treated equally.

I believe Barack Obama has shown a deep conviction to help those most in need, even if their voices are not always the ones heard the loudest in Washington.

No change can come if those who are impacted the most by discrimination are not willing to stand up for themselves.

I believe in the power of media. I really do. It's my soapbox. And I do have an agenda, because I'm enraged by the limitations forced on people - by poverty, oppression, hatred, fear - and I'm saddened by the kind of loss we all experienced due to the contributions that people cannot make because of their circumstances.

I have lectured at the U.N. and travelled widely, giving lectures on human rights and gender inequalities in universities. But this is a life I do not wish to live. I don't want to be a showcase, I want to be in a battlefield where I can stand beside the oppressed and the poor.

We need to work on the world so it will not be so oppressive.

No one who passively endures an injustice against himself has the material in him to struggle for the rights of others. The one who patiently forbears becomes an accessory to the injustice done to others. He who resists the injustice which he himself meets can open up the way to a higher right for others.

I want to be the voice and the vision for the poor and the powerless.

There are people in our country, in our communities who are being marginalized and discriminated against every single day. I fight for them.

We must speak up for those who do not dare to speak, those who are not allowed to, and those who cannot.

My equality rants have been out there so much that people must be getting sick of it, and frankly, so am I, but if a writer wants to do another story about it, then go for it, because the cause is a good one.

In my photography, I always lean towards the underprivileged because that's where I came from. When I went to the wars, I attempted to go and stand by those who were being trodden on. By that, I mean people like the Palestinians. When I go to India, I see really the poorest people, and I tend to be drawn to them.

I feel that my purpose is to shed light on some of the darker sides of our world, and to lend a hand and a voice to people struggling.