"If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated."

"The so-called modern education, with all its defects, however, does others so much more good than it does the Negro, because it has been worked out in conformity to the needs of those who have enslaved and oppressed weaker peoples."

"Negro banks, as a rule, have failed because the people, taught that their own pioneers in business cannot function in this sphere, withdrew their deposits."

"The mere imparting of information is not education."

"First and foremost I am a drummer. After that, I'm other things... But I didn't play drums to make money."

"I can live without money, but I cannot live without love."

"A likely source for terrorists seeking to buy or steal nuclear materials is the former Soviet Union."

"A stockbroker urged me to buy a stock that would triple its value every year. I told him, 'At my age, I don't even buy green bananas.'"