“We can't change the world unless we change.”
– Biggie Smalls
Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes made history on January 9 when she opened session in the
New York State Assembly as the first woman and the first African American to hold the title of Majority Leader.
The Majority Leader concluded her opening remarks with an inspirational quote from music mogul
Christopher Wallace AKA Biggie Smalls, a Brooklyn native who rose to the top of his profession among hip hop artists.
"We can't change the world unless we change," said Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes, crediting
Smalls at the opening of the Assembly's 2019-2020 session.
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“It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how our history has shaped us in ways that we may not yet still understand”
–Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
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“I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, fears diminish.”
–Rosa Parks
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“You don't make progress by standing on the side lines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
–Shirley Chisholm
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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life last”
–Rachel Carlson
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“You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated, in fact it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from and how you can still come out of it”
–Maya Angelou
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“If you look at what you have in life you'll always have more, If you look at what you don't have in life you'll never have enough”
–Oprah Winfrey
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“We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States be guaranteed to us and to our daughters forever”
–Susan B. Anthony
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“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no
accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy.
It requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world.”
–Bill Bullard
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“In order to see where we are going, we not only must remember
where we have been, but we must understand where we have been.”
–Ella Baker
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“I am where I am because of the bridges that I crossed. Sojourner
Truth was a bridge. Harriet Tubman was a bridge. Ida B. Wells was a bridge.
Madame C. J. Walker was a bridge. Fannie Lou Hamer was a bridge.”
–Oprah Winfrey
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“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”
–B.B. King
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world.”
–Nelson Mandela
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“I believe our righteous anger can be transformed into more justice
and more peace.”
–Barack Obama
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“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the
narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity.”
–Martin Luther King
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“We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice;
not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.”
–Martin Luther King
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“Peace begins with a smile.”
–Mother Teresa
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“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today.”
–Mother Teresa
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“Whenever women gather together, failure is impossible.”
–Susan B. Anthony
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The Majority Leader recognizes the value of inspiration and the wisdom imparted –
the unsung as well as the famous, and the very young as well as the very old. Mothers and
fathers who work two jobs to feed their families and keep them warm or college students
working part-time jobs so can they afford to take classes at night to secure their futures
have something valuable to say. You have something valuable to say.
Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes wants to share your wisdom, hope and humor each day as
she directs the proceedings of The People's House.
In addition to inspiration, the Majority Leader wants to know all about Kidspiration.
She wants to hear from students – elementary school, middle school, etc. who say
many funny (and wise) things as they make their way through the world.
We all know the words of Biggie Smalls, Jim Kelly and Shirley Chisholm because of
the success that they attained through their lives. Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes
would love to share your words to help Motivate, Inspire and Kidspire. Share the
sayings that move you to think and feel more deeply, smile more broadly and laugh
more fully.
Pass along your inspiration – a famous quote, a children's quote, your own or one
that you have always found inspiration from – and Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes
may use it in the Assembly Chamber to help open a legislative session day.
