Minorities Quotes

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  It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.

  Samuel Adams

  Inspirational, Life, Freedom

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• No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Rights, Long, Democracy

  Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1941). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1938, Volume 7”, p.401, Best Books on

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• Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Change, Inspiring, Creativity

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., for Students”, p.30, Beacon Press

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• the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Rights, Law, Majority Rule

  First Inaugural Address, 4 Mar. 1801

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• It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.

  Lord Acton

  Freedom, Equality, Democracies Have

  Lord Acton (2016). “The History of Freedom: Great Event”, p.9, VM eBooks

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• Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Truth, Speak Your Mind, Transcendentalism

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• Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority.

  Ayn Rand

  Rights, Liberty, Majority

  Ayn Rand (1964). “The Virtue of Selfishness”, p.100, Penguin

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• Discrimination has a lot of layers that make it tough for minorities to get a leg up.

  Bill Gates

  Legs, Layers, Tough

  "Bill Gates invites us all to read Jared Diamond's The World Until Yesterday" by Liz Bury, www.theguardian.com. July 17, 2013.

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• It is always the minorities that hold the key of progess; it is always through those who are unafraid to be different that advance comes to human society.

  Raymond B. Fosdick

  Keys, Different, Humans

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• The minority yields to the majority!

  Deng Xiaoping

  Yield, Majority, Majority And Minority

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• Majorities, of course, start with minorities.

  Robert Moses

  Majority, Courses

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• It is always the minorities that hold the key of progress.

  Raymond B. Fosdick

  Keys, Progress

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• In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.

  James Madison

  Respect, Rights, Majority

  James Madison, Ralph Ketcham “Selected Writings of James Madison”, Hackett Publishing

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  The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.

  Ayn Rand

  Philosophy, Humor, Rights

  Ayn Rand (1964). “The Virtue of Selfishness”, p.125, Penguin

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• The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.

  Lord Acton

  Country, Freedom, Equality

  John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (2016). “The History of Freedom (and other Essays)”, p.30, Jazzybee Verlag

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• Never be afraid to stand with the minority when the minority is right, for the minority which is right will one day be the majority.

  William Jennings Bryan

  One Day, Majority

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• The minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion.

  Soren Kierkegaard

  Stronger, Majority, Opinion

  "The Diary of Soren Kierkegaard" by Soren Kierkegaard, pt. 5, sct. 3, no 128, 1850.

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• Democracy cannot survive without the guidance of a creative minority.

  Harlan F. Stone

  Creative, Democracy, Guidance

  "Harlan Fiske Stone, Pillar of the Law" by Alpheus Thomas Mason, (p. 95), 1956.

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• The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

  Ralph Washington Sockman

  Life, Courage, Bullying

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• Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).

  Ayn Rand

  Freedom, Rights, Political

  Ayn Rand (1964). “The Virtue of Selfishness”, p.100, Penguin

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• We cannot discuss the state of our minorities until we first have a sense of what we are, who we are, what our goals are, and what we take life to be.

  James A. Baldwin

  Goal, Who We Are, Firsts

  "Gay Rights Speech: What Should Obama Say Tonight?" by Jose Antonio Vargas, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 18, 2010.

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• Sanity is not statistical - Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad.

  Winston Smith

  Truth, Mad, Political

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• A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates most is the dissent of the majority.

  Eric Hoffer

  Liberty, Majority, Dissent

  "Reflections on the Human Condition". Book by Eric Hoffer, 1973.

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• And that is my definition of democracy, the right to be in a minority and not be suppressed

  Lee Harvey Oswald

  Democracy, Definitions

  Diane Holloway, Lee Harvey Oswald, Bob Cheney (2008). “Autobiography of Lee Harvey Oswald: My Life in My Words”, p.194, iUniverse

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• My non-violence bids me dedicate myself to the service of the minorities.

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Violence, Non Violence

  Mahatma Gandhi (1967). “The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi”, p.339, Rajpal & Sons

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