Derrick A. Bell Quotes

#1. Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right.

Derrick A. Bell

#2. However self-sufficient we may fancy ourselves, we exist only in relation
to our friend, family, and life partners; to those we teach and mentor; to our co-workers, neighbors, strangers; and even to forces we cannot fully conceive of, let alone define. In many ways, we are our relationships.

Derrick A. Bell

#3. We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.

Derrick A. Bell

#4. Education leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment opens the way to empathy. Empathy foreshadows reform.

Derrick A. Bell

#5. Resistance is a powerful motivator precisely because it enables us to fulfill our longing to achieve our goals while letting us boldly recognize and name the obstacles to those achievements.

Derrick A. Bell

#6. Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.

Derrick A. Bell

#7. A rule without exceptions is an instrument capable of doing mischief to the innocent and bringing grief
as well as injustice
to those who should gain exemptions from the rule's functioning.

Derrick A. Bell