It is an insult for me to have been alive through the times you are calling the so-called civil rights movement. I don't celebrate my humiliations and my insults.
James MeredithRead
Only whites were allowed by law and practice to attend the University of Mississippi - a public institution supported by public dollars. Anything public and supported by public dollars is for me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that public institutions should be accessible to everyone, regardless of race.
James Meredith's quote highlights the historical exclusion of African Americans from educational institutions, specifically the University of Mississippi. He argues that since these institutions are funded by taxpayer money, they should be available to all citizens, reflecting the ideals of equality and justice in education. The statement champions the idea that public resources should serve the public indiscriminately, advocating for inclusivity and access to education for all races.
Themes
EducationEqualityPublic InstitutionInclusivityJustice
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for educational reform, one might use this quote to highlight the need for equal access in public education.
More from James Meredith
All quotes →You gotta understand - the state of Mississippi was in rebellion. It had rebelled against the United States. Now that has been a very difficult story for America to tell, but that's what actually happened.
James MeredithRead
Nothing has been more detrimental to me than to be considered a symbol, because I never stood for any of that... The civil rights movement thought they would do me harm over the years by disassociating themselves from me. Well, nothing in the world was more to my advantage. I was never one of them... I had my own divine mission.
James MeredithRead
Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind.
James MeredithRead
What I did at Ole Miss had nothing to do with going to classes. My objective was to destroy the system of white supremacy.
James MeredithRead
Do you know how big of an insult that is to me - to say that I had to be brave to confront some ignorant white folks?
James MeredithRead
Similar quotes
The hand is, in the highest degree, a human characteristic. It is man's organ of grasp and of the sense of touch, while in animals these two functions are relegated to the mouth.
Maria MontessoriRead
Education is the leading human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them; and these two objects are always attainable together, and by the same means; the training which makes man happiest in themselves also makes them most serviceable to others.
John RuskinRead
I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who read to forget.
William Lyon PhelpsRead
I read library books as fast as I could go, rushing them home in the basket of my bicycle. From the minute I reached our house, I started to read. Every book I seized on, from “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Camp Rest-a-While” to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” stood for the devouring wish to read being instantly granted. I knew this was bliss, knew it at the time. Taste isn’t nearly so important; it comes in its own time.
Eudora WeltyRead
The English language has a deceptive air of simplicity; so have some little frocks; but they are both not the kind of thing you can run up in half an hour with a machine.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
I went to an extreme for literary purposes because I felt all the self-help books out there were so gooey and Pollyanna-ish and nauseating. It was making me angry.
Robert GreeneRead