If you want to be respected for your actions, then your behavior must be above reproach. If our lives demonstrate that we are peaceful, humble, and trusted, this is recognized by others.

I did not get on the bus to get arrested. I got on the bus to go home.

Knowing what must be done does away with fear.

I thought of Emmett Till, and when the bus driver ordered me to move to the back, I just couldn’t move.

I had felt for a long time, that if I was ever told to get up so a white person could sit, that I would refuse to do so.

I thought about Emmett Till, and I could not go back. My legs and feet were not hurting, that is a stereotype. I paid the same fare as others, and I felt violated. I was not going back.

When that white driver stepped back toward us, when he waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats, I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt on a winter night.