Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.

I had met far more discrimination because I am a woman than because I am black.

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

The Constitution they wrote was designed to protect the rights of white, male citizens. As there were no black Founding Fathers, there were no founding mothers - a great pity, on both counts. It is not too late to complete the work they left undone. Today, here, we should start to do so.

Of my two `handicaps,' being female put more obstacles in my path than being black.

Laws will not eliminate prejudice from the hearts of human beings. But that is no reason to allow prejudice to continue to be enshrined in our laws - to perpetuate injustice through inaction.

Some fine men are in Congress, too few, trying to do a responsible job. But they are surrounded and almost neutralized by a greater number whose instinct is to make a deal before they make a decision.