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Civil rights22 quotes
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1968I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I've been runnin' ever since
It's been a long, a long time comin'
But I know a change gon' come. — Sam Cooke · 1964Segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever! — George Wallace · 1963Government action is not the whole answer to the present crisis, but it is an important partial answer. Morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. The law cannot make an employer love me, but it can keep him from refusing to hire me because of the color of my skin. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1958All 22 quotes →American politics8 quotes
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963The Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963By a plan known only to Providence, the stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped set America free. My nation's journey toward justice has not been easy, and it is not over. The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destination is set: liberty and justice for all. — George W. Bush · 2003People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true... No. The only tired I was was tired of giving in. — Rosa Parks · 1992No man can be fully free while his neighbor is not. To go forward at all is to go forward together. This means black and white together, as one nation, not two. The laws have caught up with our conscience. What remains is to give life to what is in the law: to ensure at last that as all are born equal in dignity before God, all are born equal in dignity before man. — Richard Nixon · 1969Maybe you can't override prejudice overnight, but the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, ninety-odd years ago. I believe in gradualism. I also believe that ninety-odd years is pretty gradual. — Thurgood Marshall · 1987All 8 quotes →Equality4 quotes
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true... No. The only tired I was was tired of giving in. — Rosa Parks · 1992No man can be fully free while his neighbor is not. To go forward at all is to go forward together. This means black and white together, as one nation, not two. The laws have caught up with our conscience. What remains is to give life to what is in the law: to ensure at last that as all are born equal in dignity before God, all are born equal in dignity before man. — Richard Nixon · 1969We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law. — Lyndon B. Johnson · 1963Political progress4 quotes
I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I've been runnin' ever since
It's been a long, a long time comin'
But I know a change gon' come. — Sam Cooke · 1964Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight, I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1968"Wait" has almost always meant "Never." — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Maybe you can't override prejudice overnight, but the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, ninety-odd years ago. I believe in gradualism. I also believe that ninety-odd years is pretty gradual. — Thurgood Marshall · 1987Progress3 quotes
We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1968"Wait" has almost always meant "Never." — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Maybe you can't override prejudice overnight, but the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, ninety-odd years ago. I believe in gradualism. I also believe that ninety-odd years is pretty gradual. — Thurgood Marshall · 1987Racial equality3 quotes
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true... No. The only tired I was was tired of giving in. — Rosa Parks · 1992We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law. — Lyndon B. Johnson · 1963Social progress3 quotes
I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I've been runnin' ever since
It's been a long, a long time comin'
But I know a change gon' come. — Sam Cooke · 1964"Wait" has almost always meant "Never." — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Maybe you can't override prejudice overnight, but the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, ninety-odd years ago. I believe in gradualism. I also believe that ninety-odd years is pretty gradual. — Thurgood Marshall · 1987Jim Crow2 quotes
Segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever! — George Wallace · 1963To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone... We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. — Earl Warren · 1954Segregation2 quotes
Segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever! — George Wallace · 1963To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone... We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. — Earl Warren · 1954American Founding1 quote
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Bill of Rights1 quote
The thirteenth amendment secured them freedom; the fourteenth amendment due process of law, protection of property, and the pursuit of happiness; and the fifteenth amendment attempted to secure the negro against any deprivation of the privilege to vote because he was a negro. The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments have been generally enforced and have secured the objects for which they are intended. While the fifteenth amendment has not been generally observed in the past, it ought to be observed. — William Howard Taft · 1909Civil Rights Amendments1 quote
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall...abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. — James Madison · 1789Declaration of Independence1 quote
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Equality of opportunity1 quote
What, then, does the Negro want? His answer is very simple. He wants only what all 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. — Mary McLeod Bethune · 1944Fighting for justice1 quote
People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true... No. The only tired I was was tired of giving in. — Rosa Parks · 1992Fourteenth Amendment1 quote
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall...abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. — James Madison · 1789Justice1 quote
We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1968Law1 quote
Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1962Legality and morality1 quote
Government action is not the whole answer to the present crisis, but it is an important partial answer. Morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. The law cannot make an employer love me, but it can keep him from refusing to hire me because of the color of my skin. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1958Moral progress1 quote
We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1968Political compromise1 quote
The Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Politics1 quote
"Wait" has almost always meant "Never." — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963Reconstruction1 quote
The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected. — Ulysses S. Grant · 1873Standing up for what's right1 quote
People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true... No. The only tired I was was tired of giving in. — Rosa Parks · 1992The Founders1 quote
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963US Constitution1 quote
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. — Martin Luther King, Jr. · 1963