Thurgood Marshall Quotes (21 Quotes)


    None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.

    Today's Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness that I and other Blacks cherish.

    Jurors who are opposed to capital punishment are more likely to believe that a defendants failure to testify is indicative of his guilt, more hostile to the insanity defense, more mistrustful of defense attorneys and less concerned about the danger of erroneous convictions.

    Surely the fact that a uniformed police officer is wearing his hair below his collar will make him no less identifiable as a policeman.

    Even if all parties approach the court's mandate with the best of conscious intentions, ... that mandate requires them to confront and overcome their own racism on all levels a challenge I doubt all of them can meet.



    What is the quality of your intentCertain people have a way of saying things that shake us at the core. Even when the words do not seem harsh or offensive, the impact is shattering. What we could be experiencing is the intent behind the words. When we intend to do good, we do. When we intend to do harm, it happens. What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through. We cannot sugarcoat the feelings in our heart of hearts. The emotion is the energy that motivates. We cannot ignore what we really want to create. We should be honest and do it the way we feel it. What we owe to ourselves and everyone around is to examine the reasons of our true intent.My intent will be evident in the results.

    History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.

    Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.

    I have a lifetime appointment and I intend to serve it. I expect to die at 110, shot by a jealous husband.


    We can always stick together when we are losing, but tend to find means of breaking up when we're winning. In Grace under Pressure, by Hastie, 1984.

    Customary greeting to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, What's shaking, chiefy baby.

    It is a historic step toward eliminating the shameful practice of racial discrimination in the selection of juries.

    If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.

    A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi... has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for.

    The ban directly hampers the party's ability to spread its message and hamstrings voters seeking to inform themselves about the candidates and issues,

    Ending racial discrimination in jury selection can be accomplished only by eliminating peremptory challenges entirely.

    The equal protection clause does not require proportional representation, ... meaningless ballots.

    In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.

    Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.


    More Thurgood Marshall Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Quality - Power - Liberty & Freedom - History - Envy & Jealousy - Sense & Perception - Danger & Risk - Punishment - Babies - Man - Humanity - Facts - Success - Emotions - Charity - Mind - Intention - Goals - Thought & Thinking - View All Thurgood Marshall Quotations

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