You can't hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree.

To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal.

Any group, any group that can't work with all other groups, if they are genuinely interested in solving the problems of the Negro collectively why, I don't think that that group is really sincerely motivated toward reaching a solution.

History is a people's memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.

You Negroes are not willing to admit it yet, but integration will not work. Why, it is against the white man's nature to integrate you into his house.

The cornerstones of this country's operation are economic and political strength and power. The black man doesn't have the economic strength - and it will take time for him to build it. But right now the American black man has the political strength and power to change his destiny overnight.

We didn't land on plymouth rock, Plymouth rock landed on us".