Ira Glasser Quotes
You will be pleased to know I stand obediently for the national anthem, though of course I would defend your right to remain seated should you so decide.
Song traditionally sung at the end of British Labour Party meetings
The motto was worn on their uniforms which unlike the blue of the rest of the American army was white as can be seen in the famous paining by muralist David R. Wagner. Rhode Island offered freedom to all slaves who would enlist. It not only included Negroes but Indian slaves as well. See {613949} and {614120} for details. The motto itself is interesting in that there was little concept of a country then as most Americans identified themselves as Virginians, New Yorkers or Rhode Islanders. There was no Constitution—only a confederation of States. But the former slaves joining the regiment had never voluntarily associated themselves with Rhode Island, and the first free decision they made was to join the regiment and have a new country.
Ira Saul Glasser (born 1938) was the fifth executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001. His life was the subject of the 2020 documentary Mighty Ira.
