In 1960, when I graduated from college, people told me a woman couldn't go to law school. And when I graduated from law school, people told me, 'Law firms won't hire you.'
Interpretation
The quote highlights the challenges women faced in pursuing careers in law and the resilience required to overcome societal barriers.
Janet Reno's quote reflects the societal skepticism and obstacles women encountered in the 1960s when trying to enter male-dominated fields like law. Despite being told repeatedly that they could not succeed or find employment, her determination and courage led her to break through these barriers, showcasing the necessity of resilience in the face of discrimination.
In practice
This quote can be used in a graduation speech to inspire young women pursuing their dreams.
My mother taught us to play baseball, to bake a cake, to play fair - she beat the living daylights out of us sometimes, and she loved us with all her heart; she taught her favorite poets, and there is no child care in the world that will ever be a substitute for what that lady was in our life.
Stereotypes should never influence policy or public opinion.
It was foolish indeed - thus to run farther and farther from all who could help her, as if she had been seeking a fit spot for the goblin creature to eat her in at his leisure; but that is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we are afraid of.
We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. We cannot afford to use methods of which we will be ashamed when we look back, when we say, '...we shouldn't have done that.'
I'm fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man. This Oscar belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS. It belongs to one exceptional family, and I will be it's custodian and I promise you that I will polish him, and wait on him hand and foot.
Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
Come back with your shield - or on it
The times when black women have been successful in confronting and overcoming the structural and institutional sexism and racism that persists in our society have been when we are thoughtful and strategic about speaking up. It's when we've done what it takes to introduce and implement our ideas and our plans to make things better.
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