“I do believe that I, as a professional lawyer, have the obligation to join with other professionals and fellow citizens to struggle against poverty caused by unconscionable laws, or even by legalized greed: against pollution of the physical and mental environment; against inequalities in education, health and housing —against all those and other evils of our society.”
Sargent Shriver was an attorney by profession. When he created the programs of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, he made Legal Services for the Poor one of its cornerstones. And throughout his life, he gave speeches to bar associations around the country. It was not uncommon for Sarge to remind and indeed to challenge his fellow attorneys to pool their skills and to join forces with other citizens for the public good.
Our Quote of the Week shows Sargent Shriver’s deeply-held belief that attorneys have the obligation to fight inequality at levels: from preserving a clean and stable physical and social environment, to ensuring that all citizens have access to education, medical services, and housing, Sarge was a passionate advocate for the idea that attorneys, and indeed, all citizens, should put their skills to work to create a more just society.
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