I knew that I could vote and that that wasn't a privilege; it was my right. Every time I tried I was shot, killed or jailed, beaten or economically deprived.

The masses don't shed their blood for the benefit of a few individuals.

The secret of life is to have no fear; it's the only way to function.

Capitalism is a stupid system, a backward system.

We had no more courage than Harriet Tubman or Marcus Garvey had in their times. We just had a more vulnerable enemy.

Leaders in Africa are so corrupt that we are certain if we put dogs in uniforms and put guns on their shoulders, we'd be hard put to distinguish them.

Now, then, in order to understand white supremacy we must dismiss the fallacious notion that white people can give anybody their freedom.

A man is born free.

No man can given anybody his freedom.

We are revolutionaries.

So that the failures to pass a civil rights bill isn't because of Black Power, isn't because of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; it's not because of the rebellions that are occurring in the major cities.

The knowledge I have now is not the knowledge I had then.

It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call for black people to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations.

I usually say I did the best I could with what I had. I have no major regrets.

Our grandfathers had to run, run, run. My generation's out of breath. We ain't running no more.

I knew that I could vote and that that wasn't a privilege; it was my right. Every time I tried I was shot, killed or jailed, beaten or economically deprived.

Seems to me that the institutions that function in this country are clearly racist, and that they're built upon racism.

One of the tragedies of the struggle against racism is that up to now there has been no national organization which could speak to the growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghetto.

The first need of a free people is to define their own terms.

We were aware of the fact that death walks hand in hand with struggle.

There is a higher law than the law of government. That's the law of conscience.

Integration is a man's ability to want to move in there by himself. If someone wants to live in a white neighborhood and he is black, that is his choice. It should be his rights. It is not because white people will not allow him.

I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.

An organization which claims to be working for the needs of a community - as SNCC does - must work to provide that community with a position of strength from which to make its voice heard. This is the significance of black power beyond the slogan.

Black power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it.

There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites.

Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks.

I also know that while I am black I am a human being, and therefore I have the right to go into any public place. White people didn't know that.Every time I tried to go into a place they stopped me.

Now we maintain that we cannot be afford to be concerned about 6 percent of the children in this country, black children, who you allow to come into white schools. We have 94 percent who still live in shacks. We are going to be concerned about those 94 percent.

The philosophers Camus and Sartre raise the question whether or not a man can condemn himself.

I also know that while I am black I am a human being, and therefore I have the right to go into any public place. White people didn't know that. Every time I tried to go into a place they stopped me.

There has been only a civil rights movement whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites.

The secret of life is to have no fear; It's the only way to function.

It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little.

I got to sit down with people who I admired, and have conversations with some of the greatest thinkers and artists and performers. It's a huge privilege for me to be a journalist.

My life has been a continuous fulfillment of dreams. It appears that everything I saw and did has a new, and perhaps, more significant meaning, every time I see it. The earth is good. It is a privilege to live thereon.

Let us search into the records of Holy Writ, if out of this their great charter, there be not a seal grant of a lesser, though like privilege, and this by virtue of Christ, in that we have the honour to be accounted Abraham's seed as truly as they.

However, when the privilege depends solely on the broad, undifferentiated claim of public interest in the confidentiality of such conversations, a confrontation with other values arises.

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.

A free public broadcast license is a privilege.

I know it's a rare privilege, but if one can really tackle something in adult life that means that much to you, then it's more rewarding than anything I can imagine.

We have a country that wants to believe it is the best in everything, but until all of us embrace the idea that health care should be a right, not a privilege, our system cannot be glibly described as, quote, 'the best in the world.'

Our greatest privilege and responsibility as leaders of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs is to provide our veterans with a system that cares for their wounds and ensures that they have an opportunity to succeed.

I've been very lucky in my long life. On three continents, in diverse cultures, through happy moments, not-so-happy moments, and moments as marvelous as this one, I've had the privilege of working with the cinema's greatest masters.

Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.

I want the privilege of guiding the arrows of my children and giving them the exhortations that can shoot them into the high place.

I am so thrilled by the privilege of life, and yet at the same time I know that I have to let it go.

What a privilege to be here on the planet to contribute your unique donation to humankind. Each face in the rainbow of colors that populate our world is precious and special.

You look at it as a privilege. So you really decide that you're going to put the time in and work really hard to get to the point where you're ready.