We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load.

If you stick a knife nine inches into my back and pull it out three inches, that is not progress.

If a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy. And what America is trying to do is pass laws to force whites to pretend that they want Negroes into their schools or into - in their places of employment.

In fact, once he is motivated no one can change more completely than the man who has been at the bottom. I call myself the best example of that.

Times change so quickly that if you and I don't keep up with the times, we'll find ourselves with an umbrella in our hand, over our head, when the sun is out. Or we'll find ourselves standing in the rain, with the umbrella inside the door.

Nonviolence is his, is his method. Well, my objective is the same as [Martin Luther] King's.

We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.