08/18/2026
“A Question of Principle”
If I were to ask every white person
present to stand and declare their
willingness to be treated as Black
Americans are treated in this nation
—by our laws, our institutions, and the
uneven exercise of power—I do not
believe many would rise.
That quiet refusal is itself an answer.
It tells us that people understand injustice
when it is placed squarely upon their
own shoulders.
It tells us they recognize inequality when it threatens their own liberty.
And it tells us they would not willingly submit to such treatment.
Then we must ask, plainly and without evasion:
By what moral reasoning is it acceptable for others?
Rights are not granted by comfort, nor are they diminished by distance.
If a law is unjust to one class of citizens, it is unjust to all.
If a practice is intolerable for you, it cannot be justified for your neighbor.
This is not a question of sentiment.
It is a question of principle.
Liberty cannot be selective.
Justice cannot be conditional.
A nation that claims equality before the law must demand it in practice, not merely in word.
To know an injustice and permit it to continue is to abandon the very foundation of a free society.
Progress has never been won by silence, and equality has never been preserved by patience alone.
If you would not accept injustice for yourself, you have no right to allow it for anyone else.
Laurel Bailey
8/17/26
Advocate, One Fair Justice
© 2026 One Fair Justice
