There is no free will if to exercise it in certain ways produces punishment. That makes a mockery of free will and renders it counterfeit.
Black women are very capable of leading our organizations. I believe that firmly.
you must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.
To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.
People have said over the years that the reason I did not give up my seat was because I was tired. I did not think of being physically tired. My feet were not hurting. I was tired in a different way. I was tired of seeing so many men treated as boys and not called by their proper names or titles. I was tired of seeing children and women mistreated and disrespected because of the color of their skin. I was tired of Jim Crow laws, of legally enforced racial segregation.
I believe there is only one race - the human race.
I am leaving this legacy to all of you. . . to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace.
When you have a passion for something the hours, days, months and years that it takes to complete the project becomes secondary because you're working on something that you love.
I see too many men delay their exits with a sickly, slow reluctance to leave the stage. It's bad theater as well as bad living.
If you must use your hands, use them with all the strength you possess. . . If you choose to strike, by all means strike hard.
We're all in a test. With or without God, we're in a test.