If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs.
Mary Mcleod BethuneRead
What does the Negro want? His answer is very simple. He wants only what all other Americans want. He wants opportunity to make real what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights say, what the Four Freedoms establish. While he knows these ideals are open to no man completely, he wants only his equal chance to obtain them.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the desire for equality and opportunity for all individuals, especially for African Americans.
Mary McLeod Bethune's quote emphasizes that the aspirations of African Americans are not unique but rather aligned with the universal desires for freedom and equality as articulated in foundational American documents. She highlights the need for equal opportunities to achieve these ideals, reminding us that while full realization may be unattainable for anyone, the pursuit of equity is a vital goal.
In practice
Use this quote in a speech about civil rights to highlight the importance of equal opportunity.
If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs.
You white folks have long been eating the white meat of the chicken. We Negroes are now ready for some of the white meat instead of the dark meat.
Enter to learn; depart to serve.
We live in a world which respects power above all things. Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force.
Forgiving is not about forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt
Whatever the white man has done, we have done, and often better.
If one of our fellow citizens can be executed with so much doubt surrounding his guilt, then the death penalty system in our country is unjust and outdated.
Justice delayed is democracy denied.
Justice is not to be taken by storm. She is to be wooed by slow advances.
There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.
I understood at a young age that administrations come and go, but laws stay. So I decided to become a lawyer in order to help create a more just and peaceful world, not just in a fleeting moment but in a way that will endure from one generation to the next.
Circumstances of crimes vary. So do motives. And so do prospects for rehabilitation. The number of imponderables makes it impossible to sentence by formula and still sentence justly.
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