America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

A piece of freedom is no longer enough for human beings...unlike bread, a slice of liberty does not finish hunger. Freedom is like life. It cannot be had in installments. Freedom is indivisible--we have it all, or we are not free.

America, you must be born again!

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain.

The decision we must make now is whether we will give our allegiance to outmoded and unjust customs or to the ethical demands of the universe. As Christians we owe our allegiance to God and His will, rather than to man and his folkways

I came to the conclusion that there is an existential moment in your life when you must decide to speak for yourself; nobody else can speak for you.