--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The guarantee of equal protection cannot…" description: "\"The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/lewis-f-powell-jr-62186_color_the-guarantee-of-equal-protection-cannot_1227469.png" --- # The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing… ![“The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same protection, then it is not equal.” quote by Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/lewis-f-powell-jr-62186_color_the-guarantee-of-equal-protection-cannot_1227469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/lewis-f-powell-jr-62186_color_the-guarantee-of-equal-protection-cannot_1227469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/lewis-f-powell-jr-62186_color_the-guarantee-of-equal-protection-cannot_1227469.png) > “The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same protection, then it is not equal.” [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equal protection must be applied uniformly; differing treatment based on race violates the principle. **In simple terms:** Equal protection must be consistent for all races. Key Takeaway Advocate for truly equal legal standards. Themes justice equality law civil rights race Mood critical reflective Type legal ethical When to use this quote - court rulings - legislative drafting - civil rights advocacy - public policy formation Key Concepts constitutional law discrimination fairness Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms ensure uniform enforcement? - How does bias affect legal outcomes? A Different Perspective Legal interpretations can vary, leading to inconsistent applications. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accorded Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accorded-protection-3782784/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-protection/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Guarantee Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantee-equal-3782783/) [Guarantees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantees/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Protection Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection-equal-2928391/) ## Related quotes > [Fundamental premise that all are equal under and before the law and all are entitled to the equal protection and the equal benefit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stamatis/fundamental-premise-that-all-are-equal-under-and-before-the-law-and/) [George Stamatis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stamatis/) > [Let's finally guarantee equal pay for women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/let-s-finally-guarantee-equal-pay-for-women/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The legal bias for special protection for women has begun to wreak havoc with the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-legal-bias-for-special-protection-for-women-has-begun-to-wreak/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Homosexuals do not meet the criteria for a susect class under the equal protection clause because they are neither disadvantaged nor identified on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/homosexuals-do-not-meet-the-criteria-for-a-susect-class-under-the/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) > [We must never stop pushing for equal protection under the law in Pennsylvania and across the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/we-must-never-stop-pushing-for-equal-protection-under-the-law-in/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [Equal protection under the law mandates that similarly situated criminal defendants be treated equally, regardless of financial means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sununu/equal-protection-under-the-law-mandates-that-similarly-situated/) [Chris Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sununu/) > [Laws that require equal protections reinforce the moral imperative of equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/laws-that-require-equal-protections-reinforce-the-moral-imperative-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It wouldn't be fair to say that conservatives cherish property the way liberals cherish equality. But it would be fair to say that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kinsley/it-wouldn-t-be-fair-to-say-that-conservatives-cherish-property-the/) [Michael Kinsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kinsley/) > [The takings clause of the Fifth Amendment is for conservatives what the equal protection clause of the 14th is for liberals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kinsley/the-takings-clause-of-the-fifth-amendment-is-for-conservatives-what/) [Michael Kinsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kinsley/) > [Neither federal nor state government acts compatibly with equal protection when a law or official policy denies to women, simply because they are women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/neither-federal-nor-state-government-acts-compatibly-with-equal/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/civil-union-is-less-than-marriage-marriage-is-a-sacred-and-valued/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [ It's time to recognize that under the equal protection clause of the United States \[Constitution\], same-sex couples should have the same rights as anybody… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-time-to-recognize-that-under-the-equal-protection-clause-of-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Money is speech. It's incongruous to say a multimillionaire can spend as much on his own campaign as he wants, but you can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stone/money-is-speech-it-s-incongruous-to-say-a-multimillionaire-can-spend/) [Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stone/) > [Full participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/full-participation-in-government-and-society-has-been-a-basic-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just want to believe that, as a citizen in this country, that I have equal protection under the law and that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-k-davis/i-just-want-to-believe-that-as-a-citizen-in-this-country-that-i-have/) [Danny K. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-k-davis/) ## More by Lewis F. Powell, Jr > [History balances the frustration of 'how far we have to go' with the satisfaction of 'how far we have come.' It teaches us tolerance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-f-powell-jr/history-balances-the-frustration-of-how-far-we-have-to-go-with-the/) [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) > [Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea. However pernicious an opinion may seem, we depend for its correction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-f-powell-jr/under-the-first-amendment-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-false-idea/) [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) > [An orderly society cannot exist if every man may decide which laws he will obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-f-powell-jr/an-orderly-society-cannot-exist-if-every-man-may-decide-which-laws-he/) [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) > [Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building, it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-f-powell-jr/equal-justice-under-law-is-not-merely-a-caption-on-the-facade-of-the/) [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) [Explore all 5 Lewis F. Powell, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Browse all 5,594 Color quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. 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