Mary Frances Berry > Quotes

“When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe”
― Mary Frances Berry

“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do
what they want to, when all they need is one reason why
they can.”
― Mary Frances Berry

“Public disinterest in punishing illegal vote buying means that local prosecutors rarely pursue charges against their fellow elected colleagues....Yet the inclination no matter how small, to blame the most vulnerable citizens for fraud is misdirected.....Any outrage over fraud should be reserved for the candidates who buy their votes, neglect the issues that concern the poor, and studiously refuse to implement policies that could help them.”
― Mary Frances Berry, Five Dollars and a Pork Chop Sandwich: Vote Buying and the Corruption of Democracy

“The Colored Race does not demand reparation—thank Heaven for that—only justice, equality of civil privilege, political right and economic opportunity, properly guaranteed and secured for the future.”
― Mary Frances Berry, My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations