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.
John LewisRead
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.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the impact of historical events on the present and future, particularly in relation to civil rights.
John Lewis highlights how significant moments in history, like the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the civil rights movement, paved the way for future leaders, such as Barack Obama. This quote serves as a reminder of the importance of activism and the struggles faced in the fight for equality, suggesting that these efforts shape the course of history and influence future generations.
In practice
This quote can be used during a speech about the importance of civil rights movements in shaping modern society.
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.
The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.
Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.
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.'
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.
Sometimes I hear people saying, 'Nothing has changed.' Come and walk in my shoes.
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
We all think weβre going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations arenβt met. But sometimes our expectations sell us short. Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You got to wonder why we cling to our expectations, because the expected is just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still. The expected's just the beginning, the unexpected is what changes our lives.
The wind of change is blowing through the continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.
Once you do away with the idea of people as fixed, static entities, then you see that people can change, and there is hope.
The Stonewall riots were a key moment for gay people. Throughout modern history, gays had thought of themselves as something like a mental illness or maybe a sin or a crime. Gay liberation allowed us to make the leap to being a 'minority group,' which made life much easier.
I think it has been a tremendous feat on the part of East Germans since 1990 to adapt to everything changing.
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