--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was never a time you could get the…" description: "\"There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end segregation. What chan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/bryan-stevenson-4134_board-of-education_there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the_224214.png" --- # There was never a time you could get the majority of… ![“There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end segregation. What changed things was the rule of law, the courts. Brown v. Board of Education was ushered in by a movement, but it was a legal decision.” quote by Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/bryan-stevenson-4134_board-of-education_there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the_224214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/bryan-stevenson-4134_board-of-education_there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the_224214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/bryan-stevenson-4134_board-of-education_there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the_224214.png) > “There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end segregation. What changed things was the rule of law, the courts. Brown v. Board of Education was ushered in by a movement, but it was a legal decision.” [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal rulings, not popular opinion, were crucial to ending segregation in the South. **In simple terms:** Law changed segregation more than public votes. Key Takeaway Support civil rights through legal channels. Themes justice law civil rights social change Mood reflective determined hopeful Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - court cases - policy reform - activist strategy - community organizing Key Concepts constitutional law judicial activism civil rights movement Questions to Reflect On - How can courts further protect minority rights? - What role does public opinion play after a ruling? A Different Perspective Legal change can be slow and face backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alabama Mississippi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alabama-mississippi-1812303/) [Board of education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/board-of-education/) [Brown V Board Of Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown-v-board-of-education/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [End Segregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-segregation-1340152/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Legal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal/) [Rule of law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-of-law/) [Segregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregation/) [Segregation Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregation-changed-2283274/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vote End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote-end-2283275/) ## Related quotes > [Many Americans who supported the initial thrust of civil rights, as represented by the Brown v. 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Serving Two Masters Derrick Bell has pointed out a third structure that impedes reform, this time in law. To litigate a law-reform case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-delgado/3-serving-two-masters-derrick-bell-has-pointed-out-a-third-structure/) [Richard Delgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-delgado/) > [“The general public typically traces the death of Jim Crow to Brown v. Board of Education, although the institution was showing signs of weakness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-general-public-typically-traces-the-death-of-jim-crow-to-brown-v/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [During the decades after Brown v. Board of Education there was terrific progress. Tens of thousands of public schools were integrated racially. During that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/during-the-decades-after-brown-v-board-of-education-there-was/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [ “a 1960 self-published broadside, A Business Man Looks at Communism, Koch claimed that “the Communists have infiltrated both the Democrat \[sic\] and Republican Parties.”… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/a-1960-self-published-broadside-a-business-man-looks-at-communism/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we were a part of here in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-association-with-the-southern-christian-leadership-conference-is/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [Our courts' decisions do not permeate the public consciousness - we have no equivalent of the Brown v Board of Education ruling which outlawed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/our-courts-decisions-do-not-permeate-the-public-consciousness-we-have/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [The hardest problems of all in law enforcement are those involving a conflict of law and local customs. History has recorded many occasions when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-hardest-problems-of-all-in-law-enforcement-are-those-involving-a/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Brown v. Board of Education was arguably the most important decision of the Supreme Court in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-james/brown-v-board-of-education-was-arguably-the-most-important-decision/) [Letitia James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-james/) > [The demands of the Civil Rights era weren't limited to voting rights - they strove for an end to segregation in all aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/the-demands-of-the-civil-rights-era-weren-t-limited-to-voting-rights/) [Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/) > [I know my destiny. I was born into animosity, bigotry and hatred. We had water for white folks, and water for coloured folks. White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/i-know-my-destiny-i-was-born-into-animosity-bigotry-and-hatred-we-had/) [Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/) > [When I grew up in Cincinnati in 1974, the Board of Education set up the performing school, similar to the New York performing arts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-carroll/when-i-grew-up-in-cincinnati-in-1974-the-board-of-education-set-up/) [Rocky Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-carroll/) > [“Do you condemn the kids for not having been blessed with I.Q.s of 120? Can you condemn the kids? Can you condemn anyone? Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-hunter/do-you-condemn-the-kids-for-not-having-been-blessed-with-i-q-s-of-120/) [Evan Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-hunter/) ## More by Bryan Stevenson > [I love museums, and I think they're fantastic, but they don't touch the people who I frequently think need to be touched with at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-love-museums-and-i-think-they-re-fantastic-but-they-don-t-touch-the/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I've come to understand and to believe that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. I believe that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-ve-come-to-understand-and-to-believe-that-each-of-us-is-more-than/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I'm persuaded that if most people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would want change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-m-persuaded-that-if-most-people-saw-what-i-see-on-a-regular-basis/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [When you come to Montgomery, you see fifty-nine monuments and memorials, all about the Civil War, all about Confederate leaders and generals. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/when-you-come-to-montgomery-you-see-fifty-nine-monuments-and/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [“These aren’t my scars, cuts, and bruises. 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Richmond County Board of Education that Augusta, Georgia, had not defied the Constitution by shutting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goldstein/in-1899-the-supreme-court-ruled-in-cumming-v-richmond-county-board-of/) [Dana Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goldstein/) > [None of us were prepared to hear what Justice Scalia said, because in essence what he was saying is let's go back to pre-Board…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/none-of-us-were-prepared-to-hear-what-justice-scalia-said-because-in/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [The hardest problems of all in law enforcement are those involving a conflict of law and local customs. 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