Who said “Words like ''freedom,'' ''justice,'' ''democracy'' are not common concepts; on the…”?

Verified

James Baldwin. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"The Crusade of Indignation," The Nation (New York, July 7, 1956), published in book form in The Price of the Ticket (1985)

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“Words like ''freedom,'' ''justice,'' ''democracy'' are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply.”
— James Baldwin
Verified"The Crusade of Indignation," The Nation (New York, July 7, 1956), published in book form in The Price of the Ticket (1985) · evidenceHuman Rights
Report

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "The Crusade of Indignation," The Nation (New York, July 7, 1956), published in book form in The Price of the Ticket (1985).

APA

Baldwin, J. (n.d.). Words like ''freedom,'' ''justice,'' ''democracy'' are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22069-words-like-freedom-justice-democracy-are-not-common/

MLA

Baldwin, James. “Words like ''freedom,'' ''justice,'' ''democracy'' are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22069-words-like-freedom-justice-democracy-are-not-common/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Baldwin, James. “Words like ''freedom,'' ''justice,'' ''democracy'' are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22069-words-like-freedom-justice-democracy-are-not-common/.

Related quotes

“Close by the Rights of Man, at the least set beside them, are the Rights of the Spirit.”
— Victor Hugo
Human Rights
Report
“America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense... human rights invented America.”
— Jimmy Carter
Human Rights
Report
“Most people, no doubt, when they espouse human rights, make their own mental reservations about the proper application of the word ''human.''”
— Suzanne Lafollette
Human Rights
Report
“The demand for equal rights in every vocation of life is just and fair; but, after all, the most vital right is the right to love and be loved.”
— Emma Goldman
Human Rights
Report
“In the old times men carried out their rights for themselves as they lived, but nowadays every baby seems born with a social manifesto in its mouth much bigger than itself.”
— Oscar Wilde
Human Rights
Report

More quotes by James Baldwin

“The moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.”
VerifiedFrom Nothing Personal, a collaboration with the photographer Richard Avedon (1964). Baldwin's text for the volume can be found "here". · evidenceDetails & citeTeams and Teamwork
Report
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
Verified"As Much Truth As One Can Bear" in The New York Times Book Review (January 14, 1962); republished in The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings (2011), edited by Randall Kenan · evidenceDetails & citeChange
Report
“A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled.”
Verified"If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?" in "The New York Times (July 29, 1979) · evidenceDetails & citeEducation
Report
“The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone.”
Verified"The Creative Process" (1962) originally published in The National Culture Center's Creative America (1962) and later published in The Price of the Ticket (1985) · evidenceDetails & citeArts and Artists
Report
“People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”
VerifiedNo Name in the Street (1972) · evidenceDetails & citeAbuse
Report
“Christianity has operated with an unmitigated arrogance and cruelty -- necessarily, since a religion ordinarily imposes on those who have discovered the true faith the spiritual duty of liberating the infidels.”
Verified"Letter from a Region of My Mind" · evidenceDetails & citeChristians and Christianity
Report
All 58 James Baldwin quotes →