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 MARSHALLA man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for hard work and many heartbreaks.
More Thurgood Marshall Quotes
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If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.
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Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men’s minds.
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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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History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.
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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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Ending racial discrimination in jury selection can be accomplished only by eliminating peremptory challenges entirely.
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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 measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in time of crisis.
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Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place.
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In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.
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Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.
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We must dissent from the fear.
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I’m the world’s original gradualist. I just think ninety-odd years is gradual enough.
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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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Today’s Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness that I and other Blacks cherish.
THURGOOD MARSHALL