Nobody black or white who really believes in democracy can stand aside now; everybody's got to stand up and be counted.

I remember the day tDr. King died. I wasn't angry at the beginning. It was like something very personal in my life had been touched and finished.

You wouldn't be allowed to get on a particular bus, but you'd be asked to sign your autograph.

I want to sing like Aretha Franklin. Before her I wanted the technical ability of Ella Fitzgerald.

Malcolm X raised my consciousness about myself and my people and other people more than any person I know. I knew him before he became Malcolm X.

Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death.

I've seen so much. And I've heard so many great performers. There are performers now that couldn't work back in the days when I came along.