I am very fortunate, and I never stopped being thankful.

I went to college on my way to be a lawyer. That's all I wanted to do was go back home and help my daddy. I thought we were poor because he was not a good businessman and I was going to become the lawyer who would take charge of the business.

If the house is to be set in the order, one cannot begin with the present; he must begin with the past

I am very fortunate, and I never stopped being thankful.

My challenge was to weave into the fabric of American history enough of the presence of blacks so that the story of the United States could be told adequately and fairly.

The writing of history reflects the interests, predilections, and even prejudices of a given generation.

We also learn that this country and the Western world have no monopoly of goodness and truth and scholarship, we begin to appreciate the ingredients that are indispensable to making a better world. In a life of learning that is, perhaps, the greatest lesson of all.