To Be Negro In America Is To

I Was Much More Afraid In Montgomery When I Had A Gun In My House. When I Decided That I Couldn’t Keep A Gun, I Came Face-to-face With The Question Of Death And I Dealt With It. From That Point On, I No Longer Needed A Gun Nor Have I Been Afraid. Had We Become Distracted By The Question Of My Safety We Would Have Lost The Moral Offensive And Sunk To The Level Of Our Oppressors.

Like An Unchecked Cancer, Hate Corrodes The Personality And Eats Away Its Vital Unity.

But Life At Its Best Is A Creative Synthesis Of Opposites In Fruitful Harmony.

A Man Can't Ride Your Back Unless It's Bent.

All Labor That Uplifts Humanity Has Dignity And Importance And Should Be Undertaken With Painstaking Excellence.