"People who believe that they are white, and who are not, are a very great danger to us all."

"The root of the matter is that the white man has projected onto the Negro that which he despises, fears, and wishes to avoid in himself."

"The paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated."

"I can't be a pessimist because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter."

"It is a terrible thing to see a man that you know to be a man reduced to a thing."