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

If a white man wants to lynch me, that’s his problem. If he’s got the power to lynch me, that’s my problem. Racism is not a question of attitude; it’s a question of power.

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

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

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

Our noses are broad, our lips are thick, our hair is nappy-we are black and beautiful!

What a liberal really wants is to bring about change that will not in any way endanger his position.

An organization which claims to speak for the needs of a community must speak in the tone of that community.

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

Go home and tell your daughters they are beautiful.

One does not fight to influence change and then leave the change to someone else to bring about.

I just make the pictures and where they fall is where they fall. If somebody likes them, that's always nice. And if they don't like them, then too bad.

The several tribes of Indians inhabiting the regions of the Upper Missouri. . . are undoubtedly the finest looking, best equipped, and most beautifully costumed of any on the Continent.

Death is a name for beauty not in use.

I always enjoyed sport. I was a bit of a wild child, to be honest, and just loved running around.

In Puritan thinking, the Christian life was a heroic venture, requiring a full quota of energy.

Love is a battlefield.

Teach a man to reason and he will think for a lifetime.

I think that The Outsiders was meant to be written, and I was just picked to write it.

There are a lot of people who say, 'Yeah yeah, I'm a feminist,' and they're not, actually. I wouldn't want to throw that word around, because it's a very strong thing.

I do so many roles, I can't be typecast.