What does this passage mean to you? we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that amount these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. --that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

There are several meanings that I would be able to get from this passage.

The first one is the idea of equality. The passage tells us that all men are created equal. This means that regardless of gender, race, citizenship, etc. all people are valuable and have three important rights: the right to be alive, the right to be free and the right to take action towards happiness. As these rights are intrinsic to their condition of being human, they can be taken away. Finally, that the purpose of the government is to protect this rights, and to obey the requests of the citizens.

thurgood marshall

explanation: in 1954, thurgood marshall and a team of naacp attorneys won brown v. board of education of topeka, kansas. in this landmark decision, the supreme court held that segregation in public education violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment.