You must be bold, brave, and courageous and find a way... to get in the way.
I was so inspired by Dr. King that in 1956, with some of my brothers and sisters and first cousins - I was only 16 years old - we went down to the public library trying to check out some books, and we were told by the librarian that the library was for whites only and not for colors. It was a public library.
We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters.
Many young people, many children, are being abused, being put down, being bullied because of their sexual orientation.
Never give up. Never give in. Never become hostile... Hate is too big a burden to bear.
We are one people with one family. We all live in the same house... and through books, through information, we must find a way to say to people that we must lay down the burden of hate. For hate is too heavy a burden to bear.
We must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people, have centers where people can get the necessary help.
When I was 15 years old and in the tenth grade, I heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. Three years later, when I was 18, I met Dr. King and we became friends. Two years after that I became very involved in the civil rights movement. I was in college at that time. As I got more and more involved, I saw politics as a means of bringing about change.
I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders.
1963, because of the sense of moral authority that the civil rights movement had, we were able to get people to respond, because of the quality of our demand and our sense of moral authority.
I do not agree with what Mr. Snowden did. He has damaged American international relations and compromised our national security. He leaked classified information and may have jeopardized human lives. That must be condemned.
When growing up, I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn't like it.
Reading the Martin Luther King story, that little comic book, set me on the path that I'm on today.
Dr. King was one of the most inspiring human beings I ever met. He was such a warm, compassionate, and loving human being.
It was not enough to come and listen to a great sermon or message every Sunday morning and be confined to those four walls and those four corners. You had to get out and do something.
If you're not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up. You have to take the long hard look and just believe that if you're consistent, you will succeed.
The vote controls everything that you do.
We need some creative tension; people crying out for the things they want.
Sometimes I feel like crying, tears of happiness, tears of joy, to see the distance we've come and the progress we've made.
Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.