When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.

School takes 13 years, because that is how long it takes to break a child's spirit.

My place is in the sunlight of opportunity.

Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime.

People with good intentions but limited understanding are more dangerous than people with total ill will.

But while so many white Americans are unaware of conditions inside the ghetto, there are very few ghetto dwellers who are unaware of the life outside. The television sets bombard them day by day with the opulence of the larger society.

In a real sense faith is total surrender to God .