None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.
THURGOOD MARSHALLThe measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in time of crisis.
More Thurgood Marshall Quotes
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Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and laws.
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The United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the colored man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down.
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It is now well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas.This right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, is fundamental to our free society.
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We must dissent from the fear.
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Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place.
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The First Amendment serves not only the needs of the polity but also those of the human spirit – a spirit that demands self-expression .
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I’m the world’s original gradualist. I just think ninety-odd years is gradual enough.
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Surely the fact that a uniformed police officer is wearing his hair below his collar will make him no less identifiable as a policeman.
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The Constitution was a product of its times.
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Sometimes history takes things into its own hands.
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The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment. It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society.
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A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi… has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It’s not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for.
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A man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for hard work and many heartbreaks.
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The ban directly hampers the partys ability to spread its message and hamstrings voters seeking to inform themselves about the candidates and issues.
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The measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in time of crisis.
THURGOOD MARSHALL