To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.

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.

No one can possibly know what is about to happen: it is happening, each time, for the first time, for the only time.

It is very nearly impossible... to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind.

Rage cannot be hidden, it can only be dissembled. This dissembling deludes the thoughtless, and strengthens rage and adds, to rage, contempt.

I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.