Loneliness is random; solitude is ritual. Pearl Cleage More Quotes by Pearl Cleage More Quotes From Pearl Cleage ...no woman can love a weak man hard enough to make him strong. Pearl Cleage being-strongweak-manmen We danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and we kissed too sweet, and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl, because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight. Pearl Cleage ordinary-dayscrazysweet Loneliness is black coffee and late-night television; solitude is herb tea and soft music. Solitude, quality solitude, is an assertion of self-worth, because only in the stillness can we hear the truth of our own unique voices. Pearl Cleage coffeeself-worthloneliness It is a dangerous time to be a black woman in America. It’s a time when we are not safe in the streets or at home or at school or at work and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Nobody. Not us. Not our mommas. Not the police. Not the people we elected to look out for our interests. Nobody. We’re just out here. (p.53) Pearl Cleage homeamericaschool Discomfort is always a necessary part of enlightenment. Pearl Cleage discomfortenlightenmentbrilliant Sometimes you meet yourself on the road before you have a chance to learn the appropriate greeting. Faced with your own possibilities, the hard part is knowing a speech is not required. All you have to say is yes. Pearl Cleage speechknowinginspiration ...freedom can be a full-time job if you let it. Pearl Cleage full-time-jobsifsjobs you can't know the meaning of the lesson until class is over! Pearl Cleage lessonsknowsclass When you're young, there's a whole lot of stuff you say you'll never do. Once you get a little older, the list tends to get shorter. Pearl Cleage listsstufflittles I think it's hard to make a living as a writer, but I think it's hard to work at McDonald's too.... I think the commitment is to get up everyday and say, "I'm a writer, therefore what I'm supposed to do today is write." And to do that, and to do that and to do that. Pearl Cleage successwritingcommitment the problem with knowing is that it takes away the possibility of pretending! Pearl Cleage possibilityproblemknowing Buying flowers is not just a way to bring home beauty. It's an expression of confidence that better days are coming. It's a defiant finger in the face of those naysayers who would have you believe your fortunes will never improve. Pearl Cleage flowerhomebelieve Feminism is to sexism what black nationalism is to racism; the most rational response to the problem. Pearl Cleage diversityracismjustice Vera Stark is a fabulous force of nature. Pearl Cleage forces-of-naturefabulousforce I think that theater is a unique way to communicate with people as they gather together with other people they may not even know. It creates a sense of shared community for the time of the performance that hopefully carries over into other aspects of the audience's life because they have shared this experience together. Pearl Cleage uniquepeoplethinking old habits are hard to break, but not impossible! Pearl Cleage old-habitsbreakimpossible Any time your life is at stake and you can't find even one woman to come forward and say, 'This is a good man,' your problem isn't what kind of woman THEY are. Your problem is what kind of men YOU are. Pearl Cleage good-mankindmen You know the Buddhists believe that sometimes when everything is in turmoil, it's because something wonderful is ready to be born and that thing is distracting you so it can have some privacy during the birthing process. Pearl Cleage buddhistprivacybelieve Putting words on paper regularly is part of the necessary discipline of writing. A journal is a great way to do that. Pearl Cleage disciplinepaperwriting Sisterhood is a funny thing. It's easy to recognize, but hard to define. Pearl Cleage sisterhoodfunny-thingseasy
