I would have the Constitution torn in shreds and scattered to the four winds of heaven. Let us destroy the Constitution and build on its ruins the temple of liberty. I have brothers in slavery. I have seen chains placed on their limbs and beheld them captive.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a radical desire to dismantle existing legal structures in order to achieve true liberty for all.
William Wells Brown's quote passionately advocates for the abolition of the Constitution if it stands in the way of liberty for those who are enslaved. It reflects a profound commitment to justice, emphasizing that the current legal framework must be challenged and reformed to ensure true freedom for every individual, particularly those suffering under the weight of oppression. Brown's words illustrate the urgency of dismantling oppressive systems to realize a society built on true liberty and equality.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech advocating for social reform.
Someone must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen to me to do so. The awful death roll called every week is appalling, not only because of the lives taken, the cruelty and outrage to the victims, but because of the prejudice it fosters.
Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt appear, Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.
Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.
Nobody living can ever stop me. As I go walking my freedom highway. Nobody living can make me turn back. This land was made for you and me.
I don't want anything from Cuba. I want them to be free and enjoy the things I enjoy.
I could never live happily in Africa-or anywhere else-until I could live freely in Mississippi.
Nothing's riding on this, except the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f-k up again, I'm gonna get mad.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.