My wife says I spend my life trying to teach white folks. I'm not so sure I'm proud of it, but she's right.

Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.

Slavery is, as an example of what white America has done, a constant reminder of what white America might do.

Few whites are ready to actively promote civil rights for blacks.

Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right.

Courage is a finite resource, it is exhausted by the terrors we face.

Education leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment opens the way to empathy. Empathy foreshadows reform.