Alabama Quote by Nat Hentoff
“There's a black lawyer in Galveston, Texas, who was the unpaid NAACP general counsel in Texas. He had a great record in housing discrimination, labor discrimination. He decided to take as a client a member of the Ku Klux Klan because the state wanted to get the membership lists of the Klan to find out if they could get something on the Klan. And he said, 'I got to take you. I despise you. But we, the NAACP, won that case; NAACP vs. Alabama in the 1950s. Nobody has the right to get your membership lists.' He was fired from the NAACP. To me, he's a hero.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on civil rights case, 1970s
A lawyer chose to represent a hateful client to expose the organization’s secrets, sacrificing his reputation for a greater legal principle.
In simple terms: He defended a Klan member to protect civil‑rights data, even though he hated them.
Key Takeaway
Principles may require personal sacrifice.
Themes
justice
integrity
civil rights
legal ethics
Mood
determined
reflective
Type
historical
ethical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- civil‑rights investigations
- government transparency
- legal defense of unpopular causes
Key Concepts
civil‑rights law
strategic litigation
principled advocacy
Questions to Reflect On
- What ethical limits exist when defending hateful groups?
- How can lawyers balance personal morals with professional duty?
A Different Perspective
His actions risked empowering the very group he opposed and could be misinterpreted as endorsement.
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