When you compare what people endured in the South in the 60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, and to compare what people were subjected to there to what happened in Philadelphia - which was inappropriate, certainly that . . . to describe it in those terms I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who risked all, for my people.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the sacrifices made by civil rights activists in the 1960s for voting rights, contrasting their struggles with more recent events.
Eric Holder reflects on the courage and sacrifices of those who fought for African American voting rights in the 1960s, emphasizing that trivializing their struggles by comparing them to contemporary issues is disrespectful. He honors the lives that were risked and the challenges faced in the pursuit of equality, urging society to recognize the significance of those who fought against injustice.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech during a civil rights rally to emphasize the importance of remembering the sacrifices made for voting rights.
While he was in the service, in the South and in Oklahoma, he was refused service at a couple of places where he was in uniform, and was told that African Americans, blacks, Negros, were not served. And in spite of that, I've never known a man who loved this country more than my father did.
Guantanamo is a chief recruiting tool for al-Qaida. It has put a wedge between the United States and at least some of its allies.
Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards
In a lot of ways, civil rights division is the conscience of the Justice Department. You can almost measure what kind of Justice Department you have by what kind of civil rights division that you have.
One of the things I learned is that you've got to deal with the underlying social problems if you want to have an impact on crime - that it's not a coincidence that you see the greatest amount of violent crime where you see the greatest amount of social dysfunction.
Those who peacefully gather to express sympathy for the family of Michael Brown must have their rights respected at all times. And journalists must not be harassed or prevented from covering a story that needs to be told.
I would say to my soul, O my soul, this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair in. As long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair.
And I quoted from Nietzsche: That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.
I think that racism is ugly and so unfair, and I believe that we all need one another.
But we have been to the Pole and we shall die like gentlemen. I regret only for the women we leave behind.
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
Stand up like a mountain; have faith like a rock; love like an avalanche
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