Thurgood Marshall

"Ignorance is the enemy of progress."

"Every generation must fight for freedom."

"The law must protect the vulnerable."

"Passion is the fuel for change."

"We leave a legacy through our actions."

"The strictest requirement of a man's conscience is to protect the weak from the strong."

"Education is the great equalizer. It opens doors that poverty cannot lock."

"A man can do anything he sets his mind to do."

"The Constitution does not protect us against ourselves."

"Suffering produces an interesting character in men and women."

"No one needs to tell me that the vast majority of Americans, black and white, support the right to life."

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone."

"Real lasting change comes through the law and through the Constitution."

"We can't say we believe in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness for all while denying basic rights to some."

"An individual, no matter how good, cannot triumph against the system."

"The greatness of America lies not in being more powerful than any other nation, but in being wiser and having more compassion."

"Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is the freshness of the soul."

"I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories."

"Lawyers are the gatekeepers of the law. We must open those gates to all."

"The path of progress is blocked by apathy. We must act."

"What does slavery mean to you? Only that we are not free."

"If the individual is not of any importance, we might as well say to the individual, 'You have no rights whatsoever.'"

"Good lawyers must be prepared to fight for the rights of the despised."

"History is a powerful teacher. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

"The Constitution is a color-blind document."

"A judge must serve the people, not the powerful."

"We must be willing to sacrifice for what we believe is right."

"The law was meant to be an instrument of justice, not a tool of oppression."

"Progress requires persistence and the willingness to stand alone."

"You cannot build a nation on the backs of the suffering without creating the seeds of its own destruction."