As things are now, no one can tell to whom members of Congress are responsible, except that it does not often appear to be to the people. Everyone else is represented in Washington by a rich and powerful lobby, it seems. But there is no lobby for the people.

Racism keeps people who are being managed from finding out the truth through contact with each other.

I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.

I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.

I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I'm not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I'm equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests... I am the candidate of the people...

Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deepseated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.

It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality.