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" I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end.' "
John Lewis
End
Believe
Today
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" People come up to me in airports, they walk into the office, and they say, 'I'm going to cry; I'm going to pass out.' And I say, 'Please don't pass out; I'm not a doctor.' "
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" I do not agree with what Mr. Snowden did. He has damaged American international relations and compromised our national security. He leaked classified information and may have jeopardized human lives. That must be condemned. "
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" The government, both state and federal, has a duty to be reasonable and accommodating. "
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" I grew up in rural Alabama, 50 miles from Montgomery, in a very loving, wonderful family: wonderful mother, wonderful father. We attended church; we went to Sunday school every Sunday. "
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" My parents told me in the very beginning as a young child when I raised the question about segregation and racial discrimination, they told me not to get in the way, not to get in trouble, not to make any noise. "
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" There may be some difficulties, some interruptions, but as a nation and as a people, we are going to build a truly multiracial, democratic society that maybe can emerge as a model for the rest of the world. "
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" When I was growing up in rural Alabama, it was impossible for me to register to vote. I didn't become a registered voter until I moved to Tennessee, to Nashville, as a student. "
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" Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Never lose that sense of hope. "
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" Sometimes I feel like crying, tears of happiness, tears of joy, to see the distance we've come and the progress we've made. "
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" I was honored to have an opportunity to speak on August 28th, 1963. "
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" Reading the Martin Luther King story, that little comic book, set me on the path that I'm on today. "
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" There's nothing wrong with a little agitation for what's right or what's fair. "
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" I wanted young people to know that I was just a typical child. "
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" MLK, Jr. taught me how to say no to segregation, and I can hear him saying now... when you straighten up your back, no man can ride you. He said stand up straight and say no to racial discrimination. "
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" The vote controls everything that you do. "
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" We had teachers, we had high school principals, we had people teaching in colleges and university in Tuskegee, Alabama. But they were told they failed the so-called literacy test. "
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Test
High
" I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble. "
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" I travel all the time, but when I come back to the South, I see such progress. In a real sense, a great deal of the South has been redeemed. People feel freer, more complete, more whole, because of what happened in the movement. "
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" I believe race is too heavy a burden to carry into the 21st century. It's time to lay it down. We all came here in different ships, but now we're all in the same boat. "
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" I think my whole life has been one of sort of daring, and sort of sailing against the wind instead of just going with the wind. "
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Wind
Life
" I couldn't say no to A. Philip Randolph and no to Martin Luther King, Jr. These two men, I loved them, I admired them, and they were my heroes. "
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Loved
Heroes
Two
" I am very, very hopeful about the American South - I believe that we will lead America to what Dr. King called 'the beloved community.' "
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" We need comprehensive immigration reform. Dr. King wouldn't be pleased at all to know that there are millions of people living in the shadow, living in fear in places like Georgia and Alabama. "
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