John Lewis

"The soft-minded man always fears change. He sees only the dangers of new situations."

"I have come to believe that we are not makers of history. We are made by history."

"Education should make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's time."

"A man's ethics should not be limited by the country in which he lives."

"Nothing pains some people more than having to think."

"Is not these Negro and white together—that is not integration, that is segregation."

"The Negro is impelled to live out a tragic paradox."

"I am not interested to know whether you walk behind me or with me. All that I care is that you walk with me."

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

"Civilization itself is founded on four pillars—religion, education, morality, and justice."

"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong you cannot be too conservative."

"I envy people who have the capacity to sit in front of a beautiful prospect and do nothing."

"We must learn to reaffirm our faith and move forward with a sense of spiritual mission."

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"The question is not whether we can afford to do justice. The question is whether we can afford not to."

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

"Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary."

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values."

"We are living in the machine age. But the machine age ought to serve the spiritual and human purposes of man."

"All labor has dignity."

"Social change comes no faster than the speed of trust."

"Wisdom born of experience should guide power."

"The person who is willing to sacrifice everything for what they believe becomes unstoppable."

"No movement for change has ever succeeded without having three things in common: a just cause, a passionate vision, and uncommon courage."

"Until we all embrace the full humanity of all our brothers and sisters, we will never know peace."

"The greatest salvation is found not in the pursuit of happiness but in the pursuit of righteousness."

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

"Our children are watching. What we do now will shape the world they inherit."

"Nonviolence requires more courage than violence. It takes more strength to walk a difficult path than to fight."

"The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance."