In many ways, history is marked as 'before' and 'after' Rosa Parks. She sat down in order that we all might stand up, and the walls of segregation came down.

If a black doctor discovers a cure for cancer, ain't no hospital going to lock him out.

I'm a Third World person. I grew up in an occupied zone [Greenville, South Carolina] and had to negotiate with the superpower, really the colonial power.

Your house is your first small business. It's where your investment is and [where] our greatest asset is.

There have been more people disenfranchised in Washington than there have been in Kuwait.

My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected and the despised.

[I]t's an honor to be a food stamp president. Food stamps feed the hungry. Food stamps save the children. Food stamps help the farmer. Food stamps help the truck driver. Food stamps help the warehouse. Food stamps help the store. Food stamps hire people and feed people. Food stamps save people from starvation and malnutrition. ... Give President Barack Obama a big hand. Show your love. Show your appreciation.