Freedom is one thing. You have it all or you are not free.

Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode.

The only time people do not like praise is when too much of it is going toward someone else.

A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.

We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.

O America, how you've taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.