Anand Giridharadas Quotes

I began using the #smallacts hashtag on Twitter shortly after the 2016 election as a way to resist. To resist the intolerance growing in our nation, to resist an upcoming administration that I believe threatens to pull us backward and strip rights from those already marginalized.

People speak about diversity and representation like the world is ready. But when it actually happens, people can't take change. They can't deal with it. Which is why we have things like cyberbullying, which is why people will send you nasty DMs, say nasty things in your comments. Because they're just not dealing with it, they're not ready.

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.

Those fighting to be included in the ideal of equality are not being divisive; those fighting to keep those people out are.

If any group wants to not be disenfranchised, then understanding that there's going to be a learning curve for people who have disenfranchised them is important.

I think history repeats itself. There's a constant conversation between the oppressed and the oppressor. No matter what your field is, whether it's gender equality, the Time's Up movement, or diversity casting, it's always going to be a back-and-forth battle.

Tremendous changes are taking place in our country, eradicating the concept of second-class citizenship.

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

All the excuses that people in power used to make for not telling diverse stories or including diverse people, they've proven to be false.

Sometimes, the hate that I endure is not necessarily about me but about the space I'm in.

We'll always be re-examining how we relate to each other in terms of race and gender, in terms of power and access.

I don't like laughing at people unless they're in a privileged position or if they're in authority. If it's poor people or people who live on the outskirts or on the margins, or the underdog, I'd rather be laughing with them.

Only when the oppressed are heard can we have an honest solutions based dialogue.

If we don't center the voices of marginalized people, we're doing the wrong work.

Sometimes, unfortunately, hatred is more powerful than progress.

For some reason, I have always been interested in the stories of people who are exiled and who are deprived of rights. My main motive to make a film is to keep the society in mind and the hospitality adhered.

To the wrongs that need resistance, To the right that needs assistance, To the future in the distance, Give yourselves.

But you know, the system almost destroyed itself while it was goin' on trying to destroy us.

My belief system is that you laugh at racism, and that's how it goes away.

We cannot reform institutional racism or systemic policies if we are not actively engaged. It's not enough to simply complain about injustice; the only way to prevent future injustice is to create the society we would like to see, one where we are all equal under the law.

Truth is on the side of the oppressed.

I feel that there has been progress made since I was a boy on matters of race, but we have a long way to go.

Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that's actually nonsense.

One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle.