--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's important for the American…" description: "\"I think it's important for the American people to know that the position of originalism isn't itself an originalist position.\" — Kimberle Williams Cren..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg" --- # I think it's important for the American people to know… ![“I think it's important for the American people to know that the position of originalism isn't itself an originalist position.” quote by Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg) > “I think it's important for the American people to know that the position of originalism isn't itself an originalist position.” [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Originalism is a label that can be misused, not a fixed doctrine. **In simple terms:** Originalism can be a flexible label, not a strict rule. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about legal labels. Themes law politics interpretation Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - court arguments - policy debates - academic discussions Key Concepts originalism legal theory semantic ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - What are the risks of labeling legal positions? - How can we clarify legal terminology? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex jurisprudence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [“Constitutionalism as a guiding political tendency will require careful and thoughtful development, as did jurisprudential originalism. But its wide appeal and philosophical depth make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/constitutionalism-as-a-guiding-political-tendency-will-require/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Originalism is sort of subspecies of textualism. Textualism means you are governed by the text. That's the only thing that is relevant to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/originalism-is-sort-of-subspecies-of-textualism-textualism-means-you/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [It is time... to end the long-standing and unproductive methodological debate over 'originalism' versus 'dynamism' or 'evolution' and focus instead on how, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wood/it-is-time-to-end-the-long-standing-and-unproductive-methodological/) Diane Wood > [Originalism says that when you consult the text, you give it the meaning it had when it was adopted, not some later modern meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/originalism-says-that-when-you-consult-the-text-you-give-it-the/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [I think Van Sant is the most important American director we have. He takes the most risks. He's just pure to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pitt/i-think-van-sant-is-the-most-important-american-director-we-have-he/) [Michael Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pitt/) > [It's very important to me to be an American poet, a Jewish poet, a poet who came of age in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/it-s-very-important-to-me-to-be-an-american-poet-a-jewish-poet-a-poet/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think it's important for the American people to be thoughtful consumers of information and to think about the sources of it and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american-people-to-be-thoughtful/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [I think there's no doubt that George Washington was the most important American to this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/i-think-there-s-no-doubt-that-george-washington-was-the-most/) [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) > [The most important American addition to the World Experience was the simple surprising fact of America. We have helped prepare mankind for all its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-most-important-american-addition-to-the-world-experience-was-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [When you hide behind a veil of your financial business you never know who you're influencing, where your priorities lie. But I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/when-you-hide-behind-a-veil-of-your-financial-business-you-never-know/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [I think that James Baldwin is, for sure, one of the most important American writer/thinkers of his time... not just African-American. He singled-handily revolutionized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/i-think-that-james-baldwin-is-for-sure-one-of-the-most-important/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [You know I very much respect Yvonne Rainer, she is very important - in American dance, the entire development of modern dance, and creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/you-know-i-very-much-respect-yvonne-rainer-she-is-very-important-in/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I think it's very important for the American president to mean what he says. That's why I understand that the enemy could misread what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-think-it-s-very-important-for-the-american-president-to-mean-what/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [It's important to every American that the law protect his or her basic liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/it-s-important-to-every-american-that-the-law-protect-his-or-her/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) ## More by Kimberle Williams Crenshaw > [Black women's intersectional experiences of racism and sexism have been a central but forgotten dynamic in the unfolding of feminist and antiracist agendas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/black-women-s-intersectional-experiences-of-racism-and-sexism-have/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Sexism isn't a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. It doesn't happen to black and white women the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/sexism-isn-t-a-one-size-fits-all-phenomenon-it-doesn-t-happen-to/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [People with problems are not problem people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/people-with-problems-are-not-problem-people/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Our democracy cannot be left in the hands of those who would rather watch or participate in a train wreck than stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/our-democracy-cannot-be-left-in-the-hands-of-those-who-would-rather/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Antiracists must acknowledge that patriarchy has long been a weapon of racism and cannot sit comfortably in any politic of racial transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/antiracists-must-acknowledge-that-patriarchy-has-long-been-a-weapon/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [We must all stand against both the continual, systematic, and structural racial inequities that normalize daily violence as well as against extreme acts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/we-must-all-stand-against-both-the-continual-systematic-and/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Intersectionality is an analytic sensibility, a way of thinking about identity and its relationship to power. Originally articulated on behalf of black women, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/intersectionality-is-an-analytic-sensibility-a-way-of-thinking-about/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [We might have to broaden our scope of how we think about where women are vulnerable, because different things make different women vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/we-might-have-to-broaden-our-scope-of-how-we-think-about-where-women/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [... not all black women have silently acquiesced in sexism and misogyny within the African-American community. Indeed, many writers, activists, and other women have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/not-all-black-women-have-silently-acquiesced-in-sexism-and-misogyny/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Ideally, schools should be supportive environments for students. Unfortunately, zero-tolerance policies tend to funnel vulnerable students out of schools and into prisons, low-income jobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/ideally-schools-should-be-supportive-environments-for-students/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Censorship is certainly not the answer to controversial material and is inconsistent with our most basic constitutional values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/censorship-is-certainly-not-the-answer-to-controversial-material-and/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [The point of feminism is you shouldn't have to be a man to be treated with equal respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/the-point-of-feminism-is-you-shouldn-t-have-to-be-a-man-to-be-treated/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [It's not about supplication, it's about power. It's not about asking, it's about demanding. It's not about convincing those who are currently in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/it-s-not-about-supplication-it-s-about-power-it-s-not-about-asking-it/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [While white women and men of color also experience discrimination, all too often their experiences are taken as the only point of departure for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/while-white-women-and-men-of-color-also-experience-discrimination-all/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [If we aren’t intersectional, some of us, the most vulnerable, are going to fall through the cracks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/if-we-aren-t-intersectional-some-of-us-the-most-vulnerable-are-going/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) [Explore all 61 Kimberle Williams Crenshaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it's important for the American people to know that the position of originalism isn't itself an originalist position.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kimberle Williams Crenshaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american-people-to-know-that-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american-people-to-know-that-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/kimberle-williams-crenshaw-112_american_i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american_3210002.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think it's important for the American people to know that the position of originalism isn't itself an…” — Kimberle Williams Crenshaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kimberle Williams Crenshaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think it's important for the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american-people-to-know-that-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/i-think-it-s-important-for-the-american-people-to-know-that-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```