Welcome

Liberty is a perishable commodity.  To maintain democracy, citizens must know and understand their civil rights.  As an attorney practicing in the area of civil rights for over 14 years, I have been consistently amazed at how little information is shared with the citizenry about their civil rights, what rights they have, and how to exercise them.  This phenomenon is particularly true when those rights are being eroded.

Why is this so?  Because knowledge triggers thought, and thoughts can motivate us to act.  Throughout history, one of the hobgoblins of oppression has been the separation of the dis-enfranchised and powerless from knowledge.  As Oliver Wendell Holmes once remarked, “Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other.”  And the rich, powerful, educated, or well-connected make it a point of not having the wind knocked of them.

The Internet‘s ability to swiftly transmit relatively unregulated information to all corners of the globe represents the first time in human history that we have achieved a technology capable of bringing the world together as one.  This fact has not escaped the notice of those who benefit from ignorance, want, or national borders.  Using this technological ability, I write this blog in the hopes that it provides you with knowledge, encourages some thoughts on your part, or maybe even calls you to action.  I hope to provide a mix of information – national, regional and local; written, visual, and audio; and even some history about the civil rights movement itself.

I also hope to hear from you.  Please respectfully and politely share any information you think is important on the topic of civil rights.  If you are interested in contributing content to the blog, please see our contact page.

Finally, a word or two about the blog’s tagline, for those of you who are interested.  Although a similar quote is often mis-attributed to Gandhi, the tagline that appears on this blog is a quote by Pearl Buck, author of The Good Earth, among other works.  The complete quote is from her highly acclaimed, autobiographical account, My Several Worlds:  A Personal Record (1954), and reads:

Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.

Eric G. Young, Editor

Updated January 15, 2015