I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed... I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro songs as their own.
Paul RobesonRead
To be free . . . to walk the good American earth as equal citizens, to live without fear, to enjoy the fruits of our toil, to give our children every opportunity in life--that dream which we have held so long in our hearts is today the destiny that we hold in our hands.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of freedom and equality as fundamental human rights.
Paul Robeson's quote reflects the deep yearning for freedom, equality, and opportunity that many people aspire to in their lives. It highlights the struggle for civil rights and the hope that future generations will be able to live without fear and enjoy the benefits of their hard work. The phrase underscores that this long-held dream of equality and opportunity is not just a distant ideal, but a tangible reality that can be achieved.
Themes
FreedomEqualityOpportunityJusticeDream
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for civil rights.
More from Paul Robeson
All quotes →We ask for nothing that is not ours by right, and herein lies the great moral power of our demand.
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My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave.
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The intolerance of the few, or the risk of it, carries the day against the wider humanity of the many.
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I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom
Paul RobesonRead
And at home in the United States we found continued and increased persecution, first of leaders of the Communist Party, and then of all honest anti-fascists.
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