Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.

New Orleans may well have been the most liberal Deep South city in 1954 because of its large Creole population, the influence of the French, and its cosmopolitan atmosphere.

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought this was a good idea

I never thought I would live long enough to see the legal profession change to the extent it has.

A Negro who does not vote is ungrateful to those who have already died in the fight for freedom. ... Any person who does not vote is failing to serve the cause of freedom - his own freedom, his people's freedom, and his country's freedom.

The women's rights movement of the 1970s had not yet emerged; except for Bella Abzug, I had no women supporters.

I soon found law school an unmitigated bore.