There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.
Jackie RobinsonRead
I want everybody to understand that I am an American Negro first before I am a member of any political party.
Interpretation
Jackie Robinson emphasizes the importance of his racial identity over political affiliation.
In this quote, Jackie Robinson asserts that his identity as an African American is fundamental to who he is, prioritizing it over his roles in any political party. This statement reflects the complexity of identity and the significance of race in America, highlighting that personal identity and societal roles can intersect in unique and profound ways.
In practice
During a speech on civil rights, you might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of racial identity.
There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.
The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.
My problem was my inability to spend much time at home. I thought my family was secure, so I went running around everyplace else. I guess I had more of an effect on other people's kids than I did my own.
I had no future with the Dodgers, because I was too closely identified with Branch Rickey. After the club was taken over by Walter O'Malley, you couldn't even mention Mr. Rickey's name in front of him. I considered Mr. Rickey the greatest human being I had ever known.
The colonel replied that he didn't care how my men had got the job done. He was happy that it had been accomplished. He said that, obviously, no matter how much or how little I knew technically, I was able to get the best out of people I worked with.
When I look back at what I had to go through in black baseball, I can only marvel at the many black players who stuck it out for years in the Jim Crow leagues because they had nowhere else to go.
Loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good.
What should be the future of Israel? Is the land the most important choice, and for that reason to keep the whole of the land at any cost, or to have a partition and build the Jewish state on part of the land? And the other part?
Next to a lost battle, nothing is so sad as a battle that has been won.
No rose without a thorn but many a thorn without a rose.
When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe.
Those individuals who give moral considerations a much greater weight than considerations of expediency represent a comparatively small minority, five percent of the people perhaps. But, In spite of their numerical inferiority, they play a major role in our society because theirs is the voice of the conscience of society.
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