“My main fight is for freedom and equality.”

My toughest opponent has always been me.

It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.

The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.

The greater our level of understanding, the harder the tests become.

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.

The man with no imagination has no wings.

Impossible is not a fact, It’s an opinion.

The only limitations one has, are the ones they place on themselves.

It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.

Champions come and go, but to be legendary you got to have heart, more heart than the next man, more than anyone in the world.

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.

The more we help others, the more we help ourselves.

I’m a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.

Champions have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

My main purpose is to pray five times a day. And that’s not easy.

I was the first black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.

I had to confront my fears and master my every demonic thought about inferiority, insecurity, or the fear of being black, young, and gifted in this Western culture.

Think black love, think universal love. Just think love.

The crow wished everything was black, the Owl, that everything was white.

Our elders said back then that if Black folks really wanted to see Change, they had to step up to the plate and do it themselves. Somebody has to be First. Will that be you?

And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds, And binding with briars, my joys & desires.

And I can’t die easy thinking maybe the menfolks white or black is making a spit cup out of you. Have some sympathy for me. Put me down easy, Janie, I’m a cracked plate.

Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it’s some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we see.