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For Black women as well as Black men, it is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others — for their use and to our detriment. The development of self-defined Black women, ready to explore and pursue our power and interests within our communities, is a vital component in the war for Black liberation.

— Audre Lorde Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984)

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Source: p. 45
Work: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, 1984
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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Oppressors always expect the oppressed to extend to them the understanding so lacking in themselves.

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