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

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.

When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.

I don’t measure America by its achievement but by its potential.

As there were no black Founding Fathers, there were no founding mothers - a great pity, on both counts.

The liberals in the House strongly resemble liberals I have known through the last two decades in the civil rights conflict. When it comes time to show on which side they will be counted, they excuse themselves.

As a black person I am no stranger to prejudice. But the truth is that in the political world I have been far more often discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.