Best 105 quotes of Al Sharpton on MyQuotes

It was better walk with dignity than ride in shame. A lot of people in Cincinnati are saying, "Rather than have the continual problems of police brutality and economic disparity, I'm willing to make some sacrifices." And I think that they ought to be respected for doing that.

I understand deficit spending. I was born in deficit spending.

I've never done anything else in my life other than preach and be an activist. Way before I was known.

I very rarely read any fiction. I love biographies; I read about all kinds of people. I love theology and some philosophy.

I've seen enough things to know that if you just keep on going, if you turn the corner, the sun will be shining.

I wanted to say to Governor Dean, don't be hard on yourself about hooting and hollering. If I had spent the money you did and got 18 percent, I'd still be in Iowa hooting and hollering.

I was raised by a single mother who made a way for me. She used to scrub floors as a domestic worker, put a cleaning rag in her pocketbook and ride the subways in Brooklyn so I would have food on the table. But she taught me as I walked her to the subway that life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.

I won vice president of my student body in high school. That doesn't mean anything.

James Brown lives, as long as someone steps out of their body and dances uncontrollably.

Jeff Sessions, the person who`s likely to become our next attorney general, is striking a very different tone from our current attorney general, Loretta Lynch, who announced a consent decree with the city of Baltimore.

John Lewis we all know was beaten terribly, almost to an inch of his life, opened doors that will never be closed, although there are forces that are attempting to close those doors.

Let me just say that we are under the consent decree. There are people in our city [Baltimore] along with the police department and advocates who believe that this is absolutely the right thing to do.

Life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.

My dad challenged every president from President [Dwight] Eisenhower and Vice President [Richard] Nixon to President [J.F] Kennedy, Vice President [Lindon] Johnson to President Johnson and Vice President [Hubert] Humphrey. It`s challenging the administrations to do the right thing.

My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order.

My ordination in the Church of God in Christ was at age 9, and I later became a Baptist minister, which I am today.

National Action Network, the group I founded, has affiliates or chapters in over 40 cities around the country.

One of the things that`s offensive is saying in the fifth district there`s nothing going on. This is a very vast district. The congressman happens to represent me. And while there are always more things that we can do in every community, this is a very diverse district with all kinds of wonderful things.

On Saturday of MLK weekend, just days before the inauguration, thousands of people joined me in the nation`s capital to protect the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The icy rain did not deter us as we reminded Donald Trump and other leaders that we will not be silenced.

People have a right to be nervous and fearful. They heard what Trump said during the campaign and are wondering if he`ll follow through on his promises.

People in the age of [President] Obama don't dress like they did in the age of [Lyndon] Johnson. That's for sure.

People working at the arenas are not just depending on one or two concerts. I think it gives a symbolic boost, as well as those shows do bring down some monetary investments in the city.

President Obama telling Americans not to panic in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

Senator [Jeff] Sessions says people, cities sign these decrees because they don`t want to be sued by the justice department, as if he is, in some ways, questioning whether the things that are in these decrees are necessary and warranted.

Somebody had to bring the truth to the doorstep of this president.

So we want to make sure that happens is that we build a relationship with the police department and the community that results in better policing and better cooperation with the community.

The Baltimore Police Department had engaged in a pattern of practice of conduct that violated the constitution and federal law, and this conduct had eroded trust and to deprive the people of Baltimore of the rights and the protections guaranteed to every American.

The Democratic Party hasn't whipped anybody into a frenzy. The assumption is that the people that are marching and protesting and standing up against this don't have enough sense to stand up for their own interests.

The dream was not to put one black family in the White House, the dream was to make everything equal in everybody's house.

The GOP's freak out over Donald Trump. Just two months to Iowa, can anyone stop him?

The promise of America is one immigration policy for all who seek to enter our shores, whether they come from Mexico, Haiti or Canada, there must be one set of rules for everybody. We cannot welcome those to come and then try and act as though any culture will not be respected or treated inferior. We cannot look at the Latino community and preach 'one language.' No one gave them an English test before they sent them to Iraq to fight for America.

There are now that 20 consent decrees in place like the one in Baltimore that are helping put broken police departments on a path to reform. And this is long work. Baltimore is just embarking down this road.

There are white n*ggers. I've seen a lot of white n*ggers in my time.

The unfortunate part is there`s not enough balance in the legislative chambers, and particularly the senate that has to do that confirmation for there to be enough pushback.

The United States government has the obligation to educate all young people in this country.

They tried to say that being gay is a sin, and I said that adultery is a sin. Adultery is responsible for breaking up more marriages, but do we put that in the Constitution? It’s absurd.

This is not just an agreement for the police department, this is an agreement that gets the police department working with the community and the community understanding its role as it continues to work with the police department.

We blacks had problems in the '60s and we solved them by marching. We've still got problems - let's march.

We cannot move forward or will not move forward if we are divided.

We have defeated Jim Crow, but now we have to deal with his son, James Crow Jr., esquire.

We just have to hope and pray that this man [Donald Trump] is changed in terms of how he views the world community.

We may switch presidents, but we`re just going to switch legs and keep on marching.

We must become the United States of America that represents every community, that represents every individual. And we will ultimately become a stronger nation, but right now we are a divided nation.

We need an amendment that gives us the right to vote protected by the federal government and the Constitution.

We need to make some real fundamental change from the Constitution down in this country.

We`re going to continue to move forward and fight. I just think that, unfortunately, the president-elect [Donald Trump] has chosen to address every issue.

We're not anti-police... we're anti-police brutality.

We're not willing to give black leaders second chances because, in most cases, we're not willing to give them first chances.

We've got to look toward two years from now [January 2017] to at least provide some balance in congress.

When the civil rights community raised a lot of concerns around the nomination of Mr. Sessions, Senator Sessions, one of the things was that he`s on record of saying things intrusive, like voting rights,that he doesn`t believe the federal government should interfere with local policing, almost like states` rights kind of rhetoric.