You ultimately judge the civility of a society not by how it treats the rich, the powerful, the protected and the highly esteemed, but by how it treats the poor, the disfavored and the disadvantaged...
You don’t change the world with the ideas in your mind, but with the conviction in your heart.
I don’t think there’s been a time in American history with more innocent people in prison.
The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.
We live in a country that talks about being the home of the brave and the land of the free, and we have the highest incarceration rate in the world.
The greatest evil of American slavery was not involuntary servitude but rather the narrative of racial differences we created to legitimate slavery. Because we never dealt with that evil, I don’t think slavery ended in 1865, it just evolved.
The opposite of poverty isn’t wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.
If you love your community, then you need to be insisting on justice in all circumstances.
Somebody has to stand when other people are sitting. Somebody has to speak when other people are quiet.