But the deep desire for peace remained with the American people.

I am being tried for fighting for the right of my people, who are still second-class citizens in this United States of America.

The course of history can be changed but not halted.

With Othello, Shakespeare posed this problem of a black man in a white society in the role that he's playing. And Shakespeare gave Othello such dignity - he came not from - as he said - not from hate but from honor, from a sense of his own human dignity. And to me, to my mind, there could be no greater character played.

I said it was my feeling that the American people would struggle for peace, and that has since been underscored by the President of these United States.

I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed... I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro songs as their own.

Every artist, every scientist, every writer must decide now where he stands. The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.