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You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe. You have to have courage, raw courage.
John Lewis
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of having courage to express one's beliefs without fear.

John Lewis highlights the necessity of courage in advocating for one's beliefs. Speaking up and speaking out requires not only the acknowledgment of one's convictions but also the bravery to confront potential backlash or opposition. This raw courage is essential for effecting change and standing firm in one's principles.

Themes

CourageBeliefsSpeak UpAdvocacyFear

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about social justice, one might say, 'As John Lewis once said, you cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe.'

More from John Lewis

The March on Washington was a March for Jobs and Freedom. There are still too many people who are unemployed or underemployed in America - they're black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian American.
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The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.
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Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.
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I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end.'
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We need someone who is going to stand up, speak up, and speak out for the people who need help, for the people who have been discriminated against.
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If it hadn't been for that march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, there would be no Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.
John LewisRead

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