"The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities - he is only reacting to 400 years of the conscious racism of the American whites."

"I don't even call it violence when it's in self defense I call it intelligence."

"The Negro revolution is controlled by foxy white liberals, by the Government itself. But the Black Revolution is controlled only by God."

"I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion."

"When you come in to court as a plaintiff or as a defendant, it is terribly important that you look up at the bench and feel that that person represents you and will understand you, that that person is reflective of our community and of our society."

"It is a unyielding truth that a life well-lived leaves an aroma of kindness long after the sun has set — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make."

"Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot."