The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class - it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.
Interpretation
Freedom is a universal right that transcends individual identities and groups.
This quote emphasizes that the pursuit of freedom is not limited to specific races, religions, political parties, or social classes; rather, it is a fundamental right that belongs to all of humanity. Anna Julia Cooper argues that true liberty is an inherent birthright that should be championed for everyone, highlighting the importance of recognizing our shared humanity in the struggle for freedom.
In practice
During a speech advocating for civil rights, one could use this quote to highlight the universal nature of freedom.
It is not the intelligent woman v. the ignorant woman; nor the white woman v. the black, the brown, and the red, it is not even the cause of woman v. man. Nay, tis woman's strongest vindication for speaking that the world needs to hear her voice.
I speak for the colored women of the South, because it is there that the millions of blacks in this country have watered the soil with blood and tears, and it is there too that the colored woman of America has made her characteristic history and there her destiny is evolving.
Let woman's claim be as broad in the concrete as the abstract. We take our stand on the solidarity of humanity, the oneness of life, and the unnaturalness and injustice of all special favoritism, whether of sex, race, country, or condition. If one link of the chain is broken, the chain is broken.
Bullies are always cowards at heart and may be credited with a pretty safe instinct in scenting their prey.
I constantly felt (as I suppose many an ambitious girl has felt) a thumping from within unanswered by any beckoning from without.
Peace produced by suppression is neither natural nor desirable.
In the colonial context the settler only ends his work of breaking in the native when the latter admits loudly and intelligibly the supremacy of the white man's values.
It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up -release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast true nature.
The legend of the best player of chess has been destroyed.
It is in vain to hope to guard against events too mighty for human foresight or precaution, and it would be idle to object to a government because it could not perform impossibilities.
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.
All things in moderation, including moderation.
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