Never to forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over.
Fannie Lou HamerRead
Sometimes it seem like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I'll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I'm not backing off.
Interpretation
Speaking the truth can be dangerous, but standing up for one's beliefs is crucial.
This quote highlights the peril involved in expressing honest opinions, particularly in oppressive environments. Fannie Lou Hamer emphasizes that despite the risks, she is committed to pushing forward in the struggle for freedom and justice, signifying the importance of courage and resilience in the face of adversity.
In practice
This quote was mentioned during a rally advocating for civil rights.
Never to forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over.
You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.
People have got to get together and work together. I'm tired of the kind of oppression that white people have inflicted on us and are still trying to inflict.
One day, I know the struggle will change. There's got to be a change - not only for Mississippi, not only for the people in the United States, but people all over the world.
Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings in America?
I was forced away from the plantation because I wouldn't go back and withdraw, you know, my literacy test after I had tried to take it. I wouldn't go back.
Do you know how many women in a survey reported experiences of sexual harassment on the job? Eighty percent. It is so common. It's normalized. And it's an abuse of power.
We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.
Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer. It is more important than competence or vision. It can never be an elective in any law school. It can never be de-limited, dated or outworn, and it should pervade the heart, the halls of justice and the chambers of the mind.
I think it's about not just the crisis you're in, but how do you get to the other side? How do we heal? How do we survive this experience while remaining hopeful instead of filled with despair? That's what interests me.
True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason.
Those who put their lives on the line overseas are undoubtedly American heroes, but it's time for us to remember that those who serve in civilian life also embody the American spirit and are worthy of our praise as well.
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