Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.

No one will do for you what you need to do for yourself. We cannot afford to be separate. We have to see that all of us are in the same boat.

Civil rights are civil rights. There are no persons who are not entitled to their civil rights... We have to recognize that we have a long way to go, but we have to go that way together.

We have to realize we are building a movement.

The Black family of the future will foster our liberation, enhance our self-esteem, and shape our ideas and goals.

When you're a black woman, you seldom get to do what you just want to do; you always do what you have to do.

I think of my life as a unity of circles. Some are concentric, others overlap, but they all connect in some way. Sometimes the connections don't happen for years. But when they do, I marvel. As in a shimmering kaleidoscope, familiar patterns keep unfolding