If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.

The fear and apathy which had for so long cast a shadow on the life of the Negro community were gradually fading before a new spirit of courage and self respect. ... The longings and aspirations of nearly 50,000 people, tired people who had come to see that it is ultimately more honorable to walk the streets in dignity than to ride the buses in humilation.

Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the wellbeing of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.

A solitary cyclist was coming towards us. His head was down and his shoulders rounded, as he put every ounce of energy that he possessed on to the pedals. He was flying like a racer.

It is brutal work, though not more brutal than that which goes onto supply every dinner-table in the country (Life on a Greenland Whaler, an article published in The Strand Magazine in january 1897)

Every day of your lives is practice in becoming the person you want to be. No instantaneous miracle is suddenly going to occur and make you brave and courageous and true.

Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men and women are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society.

If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

A spirit, too, needs fuel. It can run dry.

Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.

The slow pace of our perfection has to be borne with patience, provided that on our part we always do whatever we can to continue advancing.

Let them judge you, but remain virtuous.Let them criticize you, but remain wise.Let them misunderstand you, but remain kind. Let them hate you, but remain exceptional.