Angela Davis makes this statement in Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture (2005). Politics and Prisons interview; p. 29 in Wikiquote’s print citation.
“The challenge of the twenty-first century is not to demand equal opportunity to participate in the machinery of oppression” Angela Y. Davis, Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture (2005), Politics and Prisons interview; p. 29 in Wikiquote’s print citation.
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Evoking the world of Angela Davis — Scholar and activist. Theme: "The challenge of the twenty-first century is not to demand equal opportunity to participate in the machinery of oppression". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
The source
Work
Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture
Publication
2005
Location
Politics and Prisons interview; p. 29 in Wikiquote’s print citation
This is a modern English publication from 2005. Only a brief identifying excerpt is reproduced; no public-domain claim is made.
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Context
Why it mattered
In the interview, Davis distinguishes gains in formal access from the elimination of structural racism. Her example is the presence of Black officials in government, which she argues cannot by itself establish progress for the larger community; the next sentences call for dismantling oppressive structures.
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Angela Y. Davis is a scholar and activist whose work connects feminism, racial justice and the prison system. A distinguished professor emerita at UC Santa Cruz, she helped found Critical Resistance and has written books including Women, Race, and Class and Are Prisons Obsolete?.
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Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Davis, Angela Y. Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture. 2005. Politics and Prisons interview; p. 29 in Wikiquote’s print citation.
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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘The challenge of the twenty-first century is not to demand equal opportunity to participate in the machinery of oppression’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/the-challenge-of-the-twenty-first-century-is-not-to-demand/