That’s how a Black woman inspired this little phrase in the part of the Massachusetts Constitution known as the “Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”: “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”3 Does that sound familiar?
