James Meredith

“I consider myself a warrior. I have been in a war against white supremacy.”

“I was on a divine mission to break the system of white supremacy.”

“I am not for integration and I am not for segregation. I am for the human race, and I want to be treated as a human being.”

“I was engaged in a war. I was engaged in a war from day one, a war against white supremacy.”

“I am not a civil rights activist. I am a citizen of the United States of America.”

“I don't think I'm a hero. I'm just an ordinary man who was called upon to do an extraordinary thing.”

“My long-range goal is to see a black man walk into a bank in Mississippi and get a loan to buy a house.”

“Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship. It's the most tragic joke in the world.”

“The issue is not integration. The issue is whether I'll be a first-class citizen in my own country.”

“The two things that could have been better is number one, to get blacks to register and vote in whatever is the dominant party.”

“The issue is not integration. The issue is whether or not black people are going to be full-fledged American citizens.”

“Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship. I've got my civil rights. I want my human rights.”

“Fear is the greatest weapon of the devil.”

“I consider myself an individual, I just had a divine responsibility to crush white supremacy.”

“The family is the most important unit in the black community. If we don’t have a strong family, we don’t have anything.”

“One day I want to see my children and my grandchildren be able to go to any school they want to go to, and not have to be bothered about it being a black school or a white school.”

“I don't want to be a symbol. I want to be a man.”

“Nobody handpicked me, nobody chose me, and nobody nominated me. I was brought by my own consent, I was guided by my own beliefs, and I am here stood by my own willing.”

“I am not a civil rights activist. I am a citizen of the United States of America.”

“If an individual is not willing to die for his beliefs, he does not deserve to live.”