AOC Inspirational Quotes and Biography
Inside: A list of inspirational AOC quotes, along with her biography and lesson resources for teachers.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress, elected at age 29. Commonly referred to as “AOC,” she represents New York’s 14th Congressional District as a Democrat.
To gain her seat, she defeated a 10-term New York Democrat in the primaries, which launched her into the national spotlight.
“There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with active, courageous love.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Here’s an index of what’s included in the post. You can click on any link to jump straight to that section:
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Biography
- Links and Printables to Learn More
- YouTube Videos
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Inspiration Quotes
Related: Famous Latinos & Hispanic Americans Home Page
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Biography
Fast Facts about Alexandría Ocasio-Cortez
Birth: October 13, 1989
Birthplace: New York City
Education: Boston University (BA)
Career: U.S. Representative for the New York 14th District
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born October 13, 1989 and grew up in the Bronx, New York, in a Puerto-Rican family. She graduated from Boston University in 2011, with a degree in economics and international relations.
After graduating, Ocasio-Cortez worked low-wage jobs in restaurants and worked as a community organizer. She volunteered for the Bernie Sander presidential campaign in 2016 and also visited Standing Rock, which she refers to as a turning point in deciding to run for office herself.
In a stunning victory in 2018, she beat incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley in the primaries. He had been elected to Congress 10 times. She then won the seat, becoming the youngest woman ever to join Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She focuses on issues like immigration, criminal justice reform, healthcare, and housing. The first legislation she participated in submitting was the Green New Deal in 2019.
Currently, Ocasio-Cortez is still serving in Congress after being re-elected in 2020.
Interesting Facts
Ocasio-Cortez started college in 2007, and her father died in 2008. During this time, she also worked for Ted Kennedy’s office, in foreign affairs and immigration, and sometimes handled calls as the only Spanish speaker.
When she graduated, the U.S. was still in a recession and she had to work as a server in restaurants to help support her family and mother, who worked as a school bus driver and house cleaner.
Printables and links to learn more
Free Resources for learning about AOC:
Videos About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
An AOC biography that includes lots of interview clips (4min 19s):
This AOC bio dives a little more into her background and rise to politics (2min 20s):
Really informative biography of Ocasio-Cortez in Spanish– if using in class, beware it shows a brief image of her working as a bartender (3min):
20 AOC Inspirational Quotes
1. “Fear is not a plan, but courage is.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
2. “I wake up every day, and I’m a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx. Every single day.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
3. “The time to be courageous is NOW.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
4. “If they want to make an example out of me, I will gladly be one. Hopefully we can be an example of dedication, courage, and persistence under fire. I also hope to be an example of not tolerating nonsense, too.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
5. “We open doors so others can walk through them.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
6. “We must lean on others to strive on our own.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
7. “We can be whatever we have the courage to be.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
8. “I used to be much more cynical about how much was up against us,” she says. “I think I’ve changed my mind. Because I think that change is a lot closer than we think.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, TIME Magazine
9. “There is nothing radical about moral clarity.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
10. “We don’t have time to sit on our hands as our planet burns. For young people, climate change is bigger than election or re-election. It’s life or death.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
11. “Hope is not something that you have. Hope is something that you create, with your actions.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
12. “The biggest hurdle that our communities have is cynicism – saying it’s a done deal, who cares; there’s no point to voting. If we can get somebody to care, it’s a huge victory for the movement and the causes we’re trying to advance.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
13. “This nation is never beyond remedy, it is never beyond hope, it is never too broken to fix. We will be here, and we are going to rock the world for the next two years.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
14. “People tell you things. And they tell you what they believe. And they tell you what they want for themselves, for you, they tell you their stories.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
15. “They’ll tell you you’re too loud, that you need to wait your turn and ask the right people for permission. Do it anyway.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
16. “We are all capable of awakening and commitment. And because of that, we can all be great.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
17. “Give people the respect of your honest opinion, and always meet them where they’re at.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
18. “We are up against political nihilism. The idea that nothing we do matters, because as long as I live in the Bronx, the political reality of this country is that no one’s going to fight for me. That is why it’s so important that we take some of these risks for our base.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NY Times
19. “The best thing we could do is work as hard as we can for what is right and what is good.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
20. “There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with active, courageous love.””
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
I hope these quotes and resources were helpful to you! If you have more ideas for resources or lessons, let me know in the comments below!
Image Credits:
Image 2: “IMG_3973” (CC BY 2.0) by cornstalker
Image 3: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by Miki J.
