Every day is an opportunity to do something important for justice.

We are all human beings, and we should be treated with respect.

It is important to stand for what is right, even when others are against you.

I am proud to be part of a movement that is changing the world.

An opportunity was being given to me to do what I had asked of others.

I was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. I was allowed to read. My mother, who was a teacher, taught me when I was a very young child. The first school I attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages.

I was determined to get on that bus. I wasn’t going to let fear dictate my life anymore.

The struggle is not over, and we must not rest until every man, woman, and child is free.

Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that.

The advice I would give any young person is, first of all, to rid themselves of prejudice against other people and to be concerned about what they can do to help others. And of course, to get a good education, and take advantage of the opportunities that they have. In fact, there are more opportunities today than when I was young. And whatever they do, to think positively and be concerned about other people, to think in terms of them being able to not succumb to many of the temptations, especially the use of drugs and substances that will destroy the physical health, as well as mental health.

Let us look at Jim Crow for the criminal he is and what he has done to one life multiplied millions of times over these United States and the world. He walks us on a tightrope from birth.

We are not here to be treated as equals, we are here to treat others as equals.

Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again.

I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.

I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don’t think there is any such thing as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you’re happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven’t reached that stage yet.

Victory or defeat? It is the slogan of all-powerful militarism in every belligerent nation. And yet, what can victory bring to the proletariat?

I am leaving this legacy to all of you to bring peace, justice, equality, love, and good will to all people.

I see the energy of young people as a real force for positive change.

From my upbringing and the Bible I learned people should stand up for rights just as the children of Israel stood up to the Pharaoh.

I thought of Emmett Till, and when the bus driver ordered me to move to the back, I just couldn’t move.

At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.

I didn’t want to be mistreated, I didn’t want to be humiliated, and I didn’t want to be discriminated against.

I will no longer act on the outside in a way that contradicts the truth that I hold deeply inside. I will no longer act as if I were less than the whole person I know myself inwardly to be.

As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin.

It is better to teach or live equality and love… than to have hatred and prejudice.

You spend your whole lifetime in your occupation, actually making life clever, easy and convenient for white people. But when you have to get transportation home, you are denied an equal accommodation. Our existence was for the white man’s comfort and well-being; we had to accept being deprived of just being human.

When I made that decision, I knew that I had to be ready to stand up for what was right.

What really matters is not whether we have problems, but whether we go through them. We must keep going on to make it through whatever we are facing.

People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.

All I was doing was trying to get home from work.

You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.

Without vision, people perish, and without courage and inspiration dreams die.

Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.

To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.

God has always given me the strength to say what is right.

There is no future without education.

Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.

Each person must live their life as a model for others.

There were times when it would have been easy to fall apart or to go in the opposite direction, but somehow I felt that if I took one more step, someone would come along to join me.

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

Differences of race, nationality or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges. Life is to be lived to its fullest so that death is just another chapter. Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

I believe there is only one race – the human race.

I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.

We still have a long way to go, we still have many obstacles and many challenges to face. It’s far from perfect, and it may never be, but I think as long as we do the best we can to improve conditions, then people will be benefited.

I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.

Life is to be lived to its fullest so that death is just another chapter. Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.

One person can change the world.

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.