A lot of organizers tell me that while they are making signs or doing whatever they do, they are listening to the Coup. Boots Riley Read Quote
I think it’s important for us not just to edit the culture that capitalism creates but to create the material basis for a culture that we want. Boots Riley Read Quote
The point is, is that when you elect a politician, it has nothing to do with their personality. Politicians perform a function, a role in government. And the role of city government is not one that serves the people, unless the people make them do what the people want. Boots Riley Read Quote
People want things that address their everyday reality, and that goes for stuff that isn’t political – with singer-songwriter music, people want things that touch them. Boots Riley Read Quote
My father joined the NAACP when he was 12, in the ’50s. He was part of the organizing efforts that led to some of the first sit-ins in North Carolina. Boots Riley Read Quote
I was in an organization called Progressive Labor Party and International Committee Against Racism. And I was – I started out helping to organize a farm workers’ union in Central California. Boots Riley Read Quote
We’re told, ‘If you want to change the world, vote.’ And really, if you want to change the world, there’s a lot more things that you can do. Boots Riley Read Quote
I’ve gotten stopped for reckless eyeballing, for staring too hard. These officers think they’re Tarzan and this is a jungle, that all the animals need to be tamed. Boots Riley Read Quote
When people listen to Jay-Z, they’re working all day or trying to work and pay their bills, and what they hear is someone who’s free. Who doesn’t have to worry about the electricity. But all we’re taught is that those who are rich deserve to be rich because they worked harder than the rest of us, or they’re smarter. Boots Riley Read Quote
