“What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.”

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Liberty for all; chains for none.

Without a struggle, there can be no progress.

I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.

Be not discouraged. There is a future for you. The resistance encountered now predicates hope.

The District of Columbia is the one spot where there is no government for the people, of the people and by the people.

Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever.

A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

The simplest truths often meet the sternest resistance and are slowest in getting general acceptance.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.

The opposite of compromise is character.

I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.

We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.

What upon Earth is the matter with the American people? Do they really covet the world’s ridicule as well as their own social and political ruin?

It doesn’t matter how long my hair is or what colour my skin is or whether I’m a woman or a man.

Too many of us still believe our differences define us.

I have spent over half my life teaching love and brotherhood, and I feel that it is better to continue to try to teach or live equality and love than it would be to have hatred or prejudice.

People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.

You should always own a black dress because no one ever remembers a black dress.

I’m not a handsome guy, but I can give my hand to someone who needs help. Beauty is in the heart, not in the face.

Say something. Have the courage. Have the backbone. Get in the way. Walk with the wind. It’s all going to work out.

Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity.