The camera could be a very powerful instrument against discrimination, against poverty, against racism.

I have been born again and again and each time, I have found something to love.

Washington, D.C. in 1942 was not the easiest place in the world for a Negro to get along.

Enthusiasm is the electricity of life

Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit. Enthusiasm is natural; it is being alive, taking the initiative, seeing the importance of what you do, giving it dignity and making what you do important to yourself and to others.

So I went to Chicago in 1940, I think, '41, and the photographs that I made there, aside from fashion, were things that I was trying to express in a social conscious way.

You have a 45mm automatic pistol on your lap, and I have a 35mm camera on my lap, and my weapon is just as powerful as yours. (To Black Panther militant Eldridge Cleaver)