Top 19 Quotes & Sayings by Yuri Kochiyama

When you're in a black group, you have to keep in mind you're not black. You just have to be sensitive. We have to be appreciative that the black nationalist struggle is a nationalist struggle.

People have a right to violence, to rebel, to fight back.

I tell you, in this country, you don't get much of an education. Throughout high school, through junior college, which is all I went, I didn't know anything about the annihilation of all the Indian nations that were here.

I didn't wake up and decide to become an activist. But you couldn't help notice the inequities, the injustices. It was all around you.

Projects meant living with blacks and Puerto Ricans, but that's what we wanted. Living in the projects, we've met so many wonderful, wonderful people.

I lived in San Pedro, California, which is, you know, on the west side of California, and it's where many, many Japanese lived.

People have a right to violence, to rebel, to fight back. And given what the United States Government and Western powers have done to the third world, I feel that these countries should fight back.

First and foremost, you do not have to live up to or emulate the lives of any of your predecessors. But at the very least, you should know about them. You will have your own life, interests, and ideas of what you want or do not want in life. Do what you enjoy doing. Be honest with yourself and others. Don't think of satisfying anyone: your elders, peers, government, religion, or children who will come after you. Develop meaningful ideals, and become conscious of others, their existence, and their lives.

Remember that consciousness is power. Tomorrow's world is yours to build.

The United States of America is a nation where people are not united because of those three glaring frailties: racism, injustices and inequities.

We are all part of one another.

Our ultimate objective in learning about anything is to try to create and develop a more just society.

The most important thing today is to stop US wars.

Life is not what you alone make it. Life is the input of everyone who touched your life and every experience that entered it. We are all part of one another.

Remember that consciousness is power. Consciousness is education and knowledge. Consciousness is becoming aware. It is the perfect vehicle for students. Consciousness-raising is pertinent for power, and be sure that power will not be abusively used, but used for building trust and goodwill domestically and internationally. Tomorrow's world is yours to build.

I don't think there will ever be a time when people will stop wanting to bring about change.

Don't become too narrow. Live fully. Meet all kinds of people. You'll learn something from everyone. Follow what you feel in your heart.

The movement is contagious, and the people in it are the ones who pass on the spirit.

So, transform yourself first… Because you are young and have dreams and want to do something meaningful, that in itself, makes you our future and our hope. Keep expanding your horizon, decolonize your mind, and cross borders.