I never liked the atmosphere of Washington . I early saw that it was impossible to build up a race of which the leaders were spending most of their time, thought and energy in trying to get into office, or in trying to stay there after they were in.

The longer I live and the more I study the question, the more I am convinced that it is not so much the problem of what you will do with Negro, as what the Negro will do with you and your 'civilization'.

Never let your work drive you. Master it and keep it in complete control.

The highest test of the civilization of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate.

Every person who has grown to any degree of usefulness, every person who has grown to distinction, almost without exception has been a person who has risen by overcoming obstacles, by removing difficulties, by resolving that when he met discouragement he would not give up.

Success is not measured by where you are in life, but the obstacles you've over come

The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts.