Take A Stand…Howard Cosell

“Stand for something. Don’t quest for popularity at the expense of morality and ethics and honesty.” 

—Howard Cosell

Confidence Is…Nona Ogunsula

“Don't project your insecurities onto someone else. Maybe it's not that they think they are too this or that, it's that you're uncomfortable with who they are and what they represent.”

—Nona O., Founder, womenatliberty.com & Women Making History

I saw a television show this weekend where a group of women attacked and disliked another woman because her aproach to life and values were different than theirs. "She thinks she's too good for us. She's too quiet. She doesn't hang out with us all the time. She's a goody two-shoes." They felt this way because she did not like the same things they liked. She expressed opinions that were different from the group's opinions. So, naturally she became a target.

As adults, we have to be careful that we don't go through life constantly playing middle school games. Let people be who they are. That's a sign of maturity. If you are uncomfortable with who they are, check yourself first. Have the courage to do this as an individual away from the group. It maybe that her example will help you find the confidence to be more of who you really want to be rather than always fit the questionable expectations of the group.

Willing To Give Up The Fight?…Marian Anderson

“No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger than its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him (her) down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise.” 

—Marian you Anderson

Let's Fight For What We Believe In...Aunjanue Ellis

"I am against hate speech. I am against racism. I am against symbols of division. I am against the Confederate symbol of hate that has corrupted our state. I'm asking all of you to stand up for the rights that our fathers and mothers and grandparents fought and bled for. Let's fight for what we believe in."

--Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Ellis' words in 2017 as she protested against her native Mississippi's use of the Confederate emblem as a symbol of pride on the State flag. The emblem was removed from the flag in July 2020.

Impossible Then, Possible Now...Constance Baker Motley

"Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade."

--Constance Baker Motley (First Black Woman in the U.S. to become a Federal Judge)

As we await in 2022  President Biden's nomination of the first black woman to be a Supreme Court Justice, remember the quote of Judge Constance Baker Motley above and remember this wisdom: don't let people tell you what is or is not possible for you? 

Malevolence...Frederick Douglass

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

--Frederick Douglass

Kingdom vs. Kin-dom… Ada María Isasi-Díaz

“…the concept of [the] kingdom [of God] in our world today is both hierarchical and elitist- which is why I do not use the word reign. The word kin-dom makes it clear that when the fullness of God becomes a day-to-day reality in the world at large, we will all be sisters and brothers-kin to each other. What binds sisters and brothers on this deeper level is a vision of liberation. We are guided and motivated by our hope for a future in which we can live fully.”

— Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Thelogian, Professor of Ethics & Theology

Photo credit:
 https://theglobalchurchproject.com/18-latin-american-female-theologians-know/

About Ada María Isasi-Díaz:

Ada María Isasi-Díaz was born in La Habana, Cuba in 1943. In 1960, due to the political realities of her country, she left the island to become a political refugee in the United States. There she entered the religious community of the Order of Saint Ursula. In 1967, Isasi-Díaz decided to go to Lima, Peru, to serve as a missionary for three years.

A pioneer in Mujerista Theology, Dr. Isasi-Díaz holds several degrees, including a M.Div., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She taught at several institutions, including Seminario Evangélico de Teología in Matanzas, Cuba; Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea; and Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. It is at the latter that Dr. Isasi-Díaz became Professor Emerita of Ethics & Theology. She passed away in May 13, 2012. Her publications include Mujerista Theology: A Theology for the Twenty-First Century (1996), En la Lucha: Elaborating a Mujerista Theology (1993; 2nd ed., 2003), and La Lucha Continues: Mujerista Theology (2004).

Quote: From Kingdom to Kin-dom: Three Feminîst lnterpretations of the Kingdom of God
https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/MQ62723.pdf