Activism – it pays the rent on being alive and being here on the planet.

In an August 1989 interview in The Progressive, interviewer Claudia Dreifus asked Alice Walker what she got from activism. Walker replied that it "pays the rent" for being alive and on the planet, and she elaborated that political engagement felt like a responsibility—otherwise she would feel like she was enjoying benefits without contributing.

Walker frames activism as a basic obligation of living in a shared world: participation and effort are a kind of payment for the privilege of being here, and a way to avoid taking from society without giving back.

“Well, it pays the rent on being alive and being here on the planet.”

“My activism pays the rent on being alive and being here on the planet.”

“Activism is my rent for living on this planet.”

“My activism pays the rent on being here on the planet.”