Let me tell you, never before in the history of this planet has anybody made the progress that African-Americans have made in a 30-year period, in spite of many black folks and white folks lying to one another.

Civil Rights: What black folks are given in the U.S. on the installment plan, as in civil-rights bills. Not to be confused with human rights, which are the dignity, stature, humanity, respect, and freedom belonging to all people by right of their birth.

Truth is the baby of the world. It never gets old.

White folks are the luckiest people: Finally a black president and he's a behaved one. Went to the best schools, best colleges, never raises his voice. I ran for president in 1968. I tell (audiences) if I won, I would have dug up the Rose Garden and planted watermelon!

The most difficult thing to get people to do is to accept the obvious.

When you have a good mother and no father, God kind of sits in. It's not enough, but it helps.

Wouldn't it be a helluva joke if all this were really burnt cork and you people were being tolerant for nuthin'?