What did Audre Lorde mean when she said “your silence will not protect you”? What was Audre Lorde not protected from?
Look at the full quote below, how does this make you feel? Does this change your understanding of what she meant?
My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences. And it was the concern and caring of all those women which gave me strength and enabled me to scrutinise the essentials of my living.
Audre Lorde
You should speak up and be kind
Don’t be afraid to speak up and be who you are.
She encouraged others to express their own power from within and to blend the personal with the political. As Lorde said herself, ‘your silence will not protect you, your silence will not protect me’.