“Nonviolence is one of those immutable principles that we cannot and must not deviate from.”

When growing up, I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn’t like it.

We are one community, one family. Really, we are the American family.

Freedom is not a state; it is an act.

A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few.

We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against.

Every generation leaves behind a legacy. What that legacy will be is determined by the people of that generation. What legacy do you want to leave behind?

You have to have hope. You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward.

If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.

We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters.

I truly believe that one day we will get there, we will arrive. And if we do it right in America, maybe, just maybe, we can serve as a model for the rest of the world.

We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.

I say from time to time that the vote is precious.

Without our faith, we wouldn’t have been able to succeed.

The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.

People should organize people to just turn up and participate in the democratic process. Knock on doors.

You have to take the long hard look and just believe that if you’re consistent, you will succeed.

Violence is not only impractical but immoral.

Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed red with innocent blood.

I don’t wish power, only art -art and passion.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.

The choice is not between violence and nonviolence but between nonviolence and nonexistence.

Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.