Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
Rejecting the fundamental provision of the Civil Rights Act is a rejection of the foundational promise of America that all men and women should be treated equally, a promise for which many Americans have lost their lives.
Interpretation
Rejecting equal rights is a betrayal of America's core values and the sacrifices made for them.
In this quote, John Yarmuth emphasizes that denying the principles established by the Civil Rights Act undermines the very foundation of equality that America stands for. He highlights the historical struggles and sacrifices made by individuals who fought for equal rights, implying that to disregard these principles is to disregard the ideals and the lives that shaped the nation.
In practice
During a civil rights rally, one might quote this to inspire unity and purpose.
Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.
In the unceasing ebb and flow of justice and oppression we must all dig channels as best we may, that at the propitious moment somewhat of the swelling tide may be conducted to the barren places of life.
Justice, not expedience, must be the guiding light. The orator must fix his eye on the polestar of justice, and plough straight thither. The moment he glances toward expediency, he falls from his high estate.
People who have lost their hunger for justice are not ultimately powerful. They are like sick people who have lost their appetite for what is truly nourishing. Such sick people should not frighten or discourage us. They should be prayed for along with the sick people who are in the hospital. "The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature."
Systemic racism always takes a toll, whether it be by bullet or by blood clot.
Trans women of color dangerously fall in between the cracks of racial justice, feminist and LGbt movements.
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