My People Quotes

Some mornings I walked out into the courtyard and every living thing there, the seagulls and wagtails, the small trees, and even the stray blades of grass seemed to smile and shine in the sun. It was at such times, when I perceived the beauty of even this small, closed-in corner of the world, that I knew that some day my people and I would be free. ~ Nelson Mandela

If I were the president, I would be very concerned ... and I would do what was reasonably necessary to find a way to get my people confirmed. ~ Max Baucus

These people all woke up this morning and reminded themselves to be human beings. Not everyone knows how to do that. No vermin, my people. Real human beings. ~ Jami Attenberg

My people are crumbling and dying and starving, and you're blessing blessed people and serving the saved. ~ Jen Hatmaker

My people had used music to soothe slavery's torment or to propitiate God, or to describe the sweetness of love and the distress of lovelessness, but I knew no race could sing and dance its way to freedom. ~ Maya Angelou

What? Why are you making the glee nose? The death of my world is funny? The final vengeance of my people? I will kill you. ~ Jackson Lanzing

So now I'm going to forget the 400 years of lynching and killing raping and depriving my people feeding of justice and equality and the lowest of low last respect and I'm going to look at two or three white people who are trying to do right and don't see the other million who are trying to kill me? I'm not that big of a fool. ~ Muhammad Ali

The officer who shot and killed Philando Castile is found not guilty. Oh well, my people of African descent; might as well get our asses back on that hamster wheel as we routinely do. It is wholly apparent that what we're forced to endure is an unremitting drizzle of unnecessary heartache as our lives, in the nation we call home, don't matter. ~ A.K. Kuykendall

If they shoot at you, shoot back. If it's one of my people, don't worry about blasting one by accident. Jayne would kill them anyway for endangering you. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

Reth reached out and took my fingers in his own, his touch light but comforting. "I've found that sacrifice is called that for a reason. We have all lost much of what we were or could have been because of the mistakes of my people. We'll yet lose some things to set it right. But when you join eternity, you will not feel the sting of this life with such intensity."
"You mean I wouldn't feel at all?"
"I feel, my love. Simply not in the same way you do. And thank heavens for that, because you are quite an embarrassment at times. Your inconsistent and flailing passions will no longer be a concern."
Leave it to Reth to go from comforting me to insulting me in the course of one short conversation. ~ Kiersten White

I just wanted to see my people smile. Brazillian people suffer so much. I just wanted them to smile ~ David Luiz

I am political in spite of myself. I don't want to do the things I know I have to do, don't want to expose myself to disapproval, to retribution, don't want to go to meetings and demonstrations, distribute leaflets, don't want to ask people for signatures, for money.

I don't do these things as naturally as I breathe, the way I imagine real political people do, real communists, real socialists and feminists, real radicals, real troublemakers, real champions of the people. I do them because I know I've got to, because I am convinced it's the only way to make changes, to stop abuses. I do them almost as a last resort. I do them because I've been putting off doing them, avoiding them for months, because finally the necessity has gripped me and overcome my reluctance, my desire for the warmth of my room, for my books, for my people, for the reassurance of my homely habits. ~ Rosario Morales

I've always thought that the most powerful weapon in the world was the bomb and that's why I gave it to my people, but I've come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon in the world is not the bomb but it's the truth ~ Andrei Sakharov

Wonder is my people attributing the creation of the universe to an act of dismemberment. It is avoiding true mystery through fantasy. And if the universe refuses to conform to your fantasy does it cease to be wonderful That is conceit of the highest order.

Nen Yim ~ Greg Keyes

I want to know why a fire glows, and why flame dust kills. I want my children or theirs ... to know what makes this radio work, ... and someday this rocket. I want to know much-more than I can learn, no doubt; but if I can start my people learning for themselves ... ~ Hal Clement

I must dedicate my life to teaching my people, for only education would make their lot less bitter, their latent power more strong. ~ Y. C. James Yen

If there's anything I'd like to preach about, the loudest, other than the Gospel, it's selfishness. If there's anything I'd like to impress upon the hearts and minds of my people, it's to get out of the self life. ~ Jack Hyles

Ruling is hard. This was maybe my answer to Tolkien, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with. Lord of the Rings had a very medieval philosophy: that if the king was a good man, the land would prosper. We look at real history and it's not that simple ... Real-life kings had real-life problems to deal with ... My people who are trying to rule don't have an easy time of it. Just having good intentions doesn't make you a wise king. ~ George R R Martin

My people have a legend of the Dayslayer. It says that Artemis chose one of our own to be her personal guard. More beloved than any of her people, the Dayslayer has no known vulnerability. Once he's unleashed, his goal is destroy Dark-Hunters. (Spawn) So you're telling me he's the Bogeyman? (Zarek) ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate atrocities against my people all over the world," he accused the British nation-state - his nation-state. "And your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. ~ Reza Aslan

My advisers built a wall between myself and my people. I didn't realize what was happening. When I woke up, I had lost my people. ~ Mohammed Reza Pahlavi

My people. I have given them a sense of individuality, integrity. I have not made them slaves of any god or any religion. Nor of any holy book or any priest. I have certainly not replaced their god. They are all a part of what I call my traveling circus. ~ Rajneesh

I was living in Germany in the thirties, and I knew that Hitler had made it his mission to exterminate all Jews, especially the children and the women who could bear children in the future. I was unable to save my people, only their memory. ~ Roman Vishniac

For seven hundred years, my people have been enslaved without voice, without hope. Now I am their sword. And I do not forgive. I do not forget. So let him lead me onto his shuttle. Let him think he owns me. Let him welcome me into his house, so I might burn it down. ~ Pierce Brown

Mother Earth reintroduced me to my people. ~ Anasazi Foundation

I have lived a long life, and I am proud that I spend the whole of my life in the service of my people. I am only proud of this and nothing else. I shall continue to serve until my last breath, and when I die, I can say, that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it. ~ Indira Gandhi

I have to do something purposeful with this new life – for myself as much as I want to show my people that I'm not the awful person they believe me to be. I need to prove that I have honor, that I'm worth something."
"You don't have to prove a damn thing to anyone, Sia. You are all of those things already. ~ Lara Adrian

19And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ~ Anonymous

Something always happened, you see. A Yiddish song on Hanukkah, a British rabbi's prayer on the radio, some kindness on a train or in the street that reminded me, no matter how far I retreated, no matter how deep into self-denial my fear drove me, that the Jews would always be my people and I would always belong to them. ~ Edith Hahn Beer

Before I let myself question my loyalty to my people, I'm quitting music. I didn't do this to be by myself. ~ Fetty Wap

The most obvious defensive management ploys are prescriptive Methodologies ("My people are too dumb to build systems without them" ) and technical interference by the manager. Both are doomed to fail in the long run. ~ Tom DeMarco

I always say to my people, how come I'm always audited and friends of mine are never audited? ~ Donald Trump

Coexistence." Talking to me, but addressing the stars above us. "There aren't that many of us, Cassie. Only a few hundred thousand. We could have inserted ourselves in you, lived out our new lives without anyone ever knowing we were here. Not many of my people agreed with me. They saw pretending to be human as beneath them. They were afraid the longer we pretended to be human, the more human we would become. ~ Rick Yancey

Then [after Castro dies and her triumphal return to Havana], at last, I could sing for my people. ~ Gloria Estefan

Fate or imprinting, or whatever the hell my people want to call it – none of that can make me love you."
"I love you, Layla. I love your stubborn streak, the way you love Rosie, Raife, and Tati. I admire you desire for independence, and Lord knows, I love your moxie."
"Fate didn't make me love you… you did. ~ Sara Humphreys

I came from a family where my people didn't like rhythm and blues. Bing Crosby - "Pennies from Heaven" - Ella Fitzgerald, was all I heard. ~ Little Richard

Our lives are so diversified, internal attitudes so varied, appearances and capabilities so different, that there is no possible classification so catholic that it will cover us all, except My people! My people! ~ Zora Neale Hurston

His wide mouth falls into amused lines. Everything dies. There's no way to stop that tide. In the end, all we have is the pleasure we take from life. For my people, it's not long. I can spend my time crying or I can live . I can seek wonder. Haven't you ever noticed that people tend to find what they're looking for, my friend? ~ Ann Aguirre

The way animals are carted around reminds me of the slavery of my people ... The slavery of animals has to be ended too. ~ Benjamin Zephaniah

I will protect my people if I live. For myself I do not fear for I have the word of Usen. Who is the White Nantan to think he can pit his power against that of Usen? ~ Geronimo

The important thing is that I returned with a great yearning for my people in that small village at the bend of the Nile. For seven years I had longed for them, had dreamed of them, and it was an extraordinary moment when I at last found myself standing amongst them. They rejoiced at having me back and made a great fuss, and it was not long before I felt as though a piece of ice were melting inside of me, as though I were some frozen substance on which the sun had shone - that life warmth of the tribe which I had lost for a time in a land 'whose fishes die of the cold'. ~ Tayeb Salih

We are already bound together in the way of my people. Will you speak vows in the way of yours?"
Her blue eyes widened with shock, eyes a man could drown in. Eyes a man could spend eternity staring into. A small, very male smile tugged at his mouth. He had succeeded in shocking her.
"Mikhail, are you asking me to marry you?"
"I am not really certain I know how it is done. Should I be on my knee?" He was grinning openly at her.
"You're proposing to me with a carload of assassins approaching?"
"Potential assassins." He gave her a small, heart-wrenching smile. "Say yes. You know you cannot possibly resist me. Say yes."
"After you made me drink that disgusting apple juice? You set your wolves on me, Mikhail. I know there's a long list of sins I should be reciting." Her eyes were sparkling with mischief.
He pulled her into his arms, against the heavy muscles of his chest, fitting her neatly into the cradle of his hips. "I can see this is going to take some heavy persuasion. ~ Christine Feehan

My purpose is to paint the life of my people as I know it. ~ Romare Bearden

Ner'zhul... Gul'dan. Two of the darkest names ever to sully the history of my people. And yet, Drek'thar tells me that once Ner'zhul was admired, even beloved, and truly cared for the people whos spiritual leader he was. It is hard to reconcile those words with what Ner'zhul has become, but I try. I try because I want to understand.
And yet, try as I might... I do not. ~ Christie Golden

The Peace Panda Says ... I truly believe that before my time comes to leave this earth and return home to my spiritual fathers ... I shall see the day that my people of Tibet are free and live in peace and happiness once again! ~ Timothy Pina

When I turned toward the hurt in the silence, I entered a kind of tenderness that was not sore, not wounded, but rather powerfully present.I sat up straight. The silence had tilled hard ground into soft soil. I sunk deep into the soft ground, where the source of life was revealed--wordless, nameless, without form, completely indescribable. And then--I dare to say it--I was 'completely tender.' To ease below the surface of my embodiment--my face, my flesh, my skin, my name--I needed to first see it reflected back at me. I had to look at it long enough to see the soft patches, the openings, the soft, tender ground. Would I survive the namelessness--without my body, without my heart--while engaging the beautiful, floral exterior of my life? Fear and caution were attempting to shut down the experience of uncoupling my heart from mistreatment and discrimination--from the disregard, hurt, and separation that I experienced and accepted as my one-sided life. I was going back to the moment before I was born, when I was connected to something other than my parents or my people. ~ Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Your God loves your people and hates mine; he folds his strong arms lovingly around the white man and leads him as a father leads his infant son, but he has forsaken his red children; he makes your people wax strong every day, and soon they will fill the land; while my people are ebbing away like a fast-receding tide, that will never flow again. The white man's God cannot love his red children or he would protect them. They seem to be orphans who can look nowhere for help. ~ Chief Seattle

This used to be about sex. The literature of my people was pornography, filled with cries for mercy, drama enacted on people without prolonged negotiation, partners engaged in a dance in the middle of a bonfire. Now, it's 300-page manuals about how to make sure nothing bad will happen. ~ Laura Antoniou

Every year, on the anniversary of 9/11, and in various places around the United States, I see the words 'Never Forget.' I understand that sentiment. I completely agree with honoring those who lost their lives. We must never forget them, and we must always be vigilant. But there is another side to this, too. It means we never forget to see my people as a potential threat. We haven't stopped racially profiling... these feelings of loss and fear and anger and tragedy affect all of us, regardless of the colour of our skin. ~ Tan France

It's an unfortunate word, 'depression', because the illness has nothing to do with feeling sad, sadness is on the human palette. Depression is a whole other beast. It's when your old personality has left town and been replaced by a block of cement with black tar oozing through your veins and mind. This is when you can't decide whether to get a manicure or jump off a cliff. It's all the same. When I was institutionalised I sat on a chair unable to move for three months, frozen in fear. To take a shower was inconceivable. What made it tolerable was while I was inside, I found my tribe - my people. They understood and unlike those who don't suffer, never get bored of you asking if it will ever go away? They can talk medication all hours, day and night; heaven to my ears. ~ Ruby Wax

Ever since I came to the WWE four years ago, there's been one home for Rey Mysterio. SmackDown! In this ring, in this very ring is where I won the World Title. This is my home. These are my people. ~ Oscar Gutierrez

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). ~ Peter Marshall

My people have more know-how in dealing with money than any other people on earth. It is not just a stereotype. I have traveled the world, and everywhere I go, Jews are always represented within the wealthiest sector of people in their countries. During the last 2,000 years, Jews have been expelled or turned away from almost every country in the world, but over and over again, they have been able to re-settle, start from nothing, and build significant wealth in new lands. ~ Celso Cukierkorn

M. Gandhi is reported to have said: "There go my people. I must find out where they are going, so I can lead them."[a.] ~ John Gall

I'm no reporter. That's for the man with a suit and tie. I'm just relating to my people the best way I know, bringing them what they know and what they see out on the streets. I'm bringing it to them in a musical way, through a way of partying rather than violence. Now they can party their way through their problems. ~ Snoop Dogg

My 'people skills' are 'rusty.' Pardon me but I have spent the last year as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. ~ Castiel

I looked below and saw my people there, and all were well and happy except one, and he was lying like the dead - and that one was myself. ~ Black Elk

I am a Carpathian male, long in the world of darkness. It is true that I feel very little, that my nature revels in the hunt, in the kill. To overcome the wild beast we have to find our one mate, our other half, the light to our darkness. You are my light, Raven, my very life. That does not take away my obligations to my people. I must hunt those who prey on mortals, those who prey on our people. I cannot feel while I do so, or madness would be my fate. Kiss me and merge your mind with mine. Love me for who I am. ~ Christine Feehan

I must learn better than them, not simply beat them. That is how I will help Reds. I am a boy. I am foolish. But if I learn to become a leader, I can be more than an agent of the Sons of Ares. I can give my people a future. That is what Eo wanted. Deep ~ Pierce Brown

I like to think of my people as mute optimists - leave the elephant alone and, eventually, perhaps with the help of a couple mimosas, he will disappear from the room on his own accord. ~ Julie Buxbaum

Have a care over my people. You have my people
do you that which I ought to do. They are my people ... See unto them
see unto them, for they are my charge ... I care not for myself; my life is not dear to me. My care is for my people. I pray God, whoever succeedeth me, be as careful of them as I am. ~ Elizabeth I

Every man, every woman who has to take up the service of government, must ask themselves two questions: 'Do I love my people in order to serve them better? Am I humble and do I listen to everybody, to diverse opinions in order to choose the best path?' If you don't ask those questions, your governance will not be good. ~ Pope Francis

If there is trouble in the country, neither I nor my people made it, and all that we have ever done, after much endurance on our part, is to maintain and uphold the constitution and institutions of our country, and to protect an injured, innocent, and persecuted people against misrule and mob violence. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

I was father to the land. I saved my people. I was... King.

"By... earth," he said, more a movement of the lips than a thing of the throat and air. "By... sky..."

Another breath, and it did hurt a little now. The next was harder. The women leaned over him, the mothers of his children. He blinked once more. His own mother, her black braids swinging as she rocked his hurt away. She was singing to him:

"Manabozho saw some ducks
Hey, hey, heya hey
Said 'Come little brothers, sing and dance';
Hey, hey, heya hey-- ~ S.M. Stirling

I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed ... I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro songs as their own. ~ Paul Robeson

I said "it is my first language, my mother tongue, my family, my people, my home; it is my heart, my heart, my heart." No one says any of these things. But they should. ~ Joanna Brooks

We have the alternative. "Do I want to be on the subway looking at these people, or do I want to be in my phone looking at my people?" ~ Douglas Rushkoff

I don't call my people fans, I call them believers, because they go above and beyond. ~ Big Sean

Anthropologist John Greenway has observed, Never in the entire history of the inevitable displacement of hunting tribes by advanced agriculturalists in the forty thousand generations of mankind has a native people been treated with more consideration, decency, and kindliness than the American Indians. The Mongoloids in displacing the first comers to Asia, the Negroes in displacing the aborigines in Africa, and every other group following the biological law of the Competitive Exclusion Principle thought like the Polynesian chief who once observed to a white officer, "I don't understand you English. You come here and take our land and then you spend the rest of your lives trying to make up for it. When my people came to these islands, we just killed the inhabitants and that was the end of it."[3] ~ Rousas John Rushdoony

I am at a crossroads; I have always been against armed opposition ... I have chosen civil disobedience. But I will apologize to my people if there are funerals coming out of prisons. I will criticize myself and I won't be the mayor of Diyarbakir. ~ Osman Baydemir

This United States Government should go down to Mississippi and protect my people. That is what should happen. ~ Paul Robeson

That is a list of the Territories that yielded to Ebon Askavi. They now stand within the shadow of the Keep. They are mine. Anyone who tries to settle in my Territory without my consent will be dealt with. Anyone who harms any of my people will be executed. There will be no excuses and no exceptions. I will say it simply so that the members of this Council and the intruders who thought to take land they had no right to claim can never say they misunderstood." Jaenelle's lips curled into a snarl. "STAY OUT OF MY TERRITORY! ~ Anne Bishop

Is it possible that my people live in such awful conditions? I tell you, Mr Wheatley, that if I had to live in conditions like that I would be a revolutionary myself. ~ King George V

The World

"You know the saddest thing," she said. "The saddest thing is that we're you."
I said nothing.
"In your fantasies," she said, "my people are just like you. Only better. We don't die or age or suffer from pain or cold or thirst. We're snappier dressers. We possess the wisdom of the ages. And if we crave blood, well, it is no more than the way you people crave food or affection or sunlight - and besides, it gets us out of the house. Crypt. Coffin. Whatever."
"And the truth is?" I ask her.
"We're you," she said. "We're you with all your fuckups and all the things that make you human - all your fears and lonelinesses and confusions... none of that gets better.
"But we're colder than you are. Deader. I miss daylight and food and knowing how it feels to touch someone and care. I remember life, and meeting people as people and not just as things to feed on or control, and I remember what it was to feel something, anything, happy or sad or anything..." And then she stopped.
"Are you crying?" I asked.
"We don't cry," she told me. Like I said, the woman was a liar."

Fifteen Painted Cards From A Vampire Tarot ~ Neil Gaiman

I am in charge of many people in my vilayet. Sometimes, a decision I make will impact someone in a negative way. Perhaps one farmer wants more access to water, but giving him that would deny three other families the water they need for their crops. I am denying the first man the opportunity to expand his crops and make more money, but I am saving the other three families from starving. Some years I have had to increase taxes to lay up stores against the winter, which is a burden for my people. But it means we will have enough to sustain us through a bleak period. I have had to take fathers from their families for committing crimes - denying a family of their provider, but keeping the rest of my people safe." He sighed. "It is never easy. I try to build for the best future I can, where the greatest number of people will be affected in the best ways. ~ Kiersten White

When I started to recording, I gave the name of Honeyboy, but my people only knew me by Honey. ~ David Edwards

We had never built, never created, only stolen your garments and lived in your cities and fed ourselves on your life, your vitality, your very blood - but we could create, given a chance, we had it within us to whisper stories of cities of our own. The red thirst has been a curse, has made my race and yours enemies, has robbed my people of all noble aspirations. ~ George R R Martin

I mean, my people were very, very simple. They were peasant people, you know? ~ James Earl Jones

Every week I preach justification by faith to my people, because every week they forget it. ~ Martin Luther

I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it. When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going. If I did, I would lose all my pleasure. It is a silly habit, I dare say, but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one's life. I suppose you think me awfully foolish about it? ~ Oscar Wilde

We have a saying, my people. Don't kill if you can wound, don't wound if you can subdue, don't subdue if you can pacify, and don't raise your hand at all until you've first extended it". ~ Gail Simone

Did you send an escort with my family?" "Yes. They're a target." "How did you know they would be leaving?" "My people saw them load up, called me, and I told them to follow." Duh. "Thank you." "You're welcome. I plan to hold them hostage until you sleep with me." I stumbled. He turned and gave me a brilliant, impossibly handsome smile. "Just kidding." Damn it. ~ Ilona Andrews

I knew that it would be called the United States. But I refused to speak that name. there was nothing united about a nation that said all men were created equal, but that kept my people in chains ~ Lawrence Hill

It's enough," said Xu. "I'll call in all my favors."

"I'll call in all my favors," said Vai.

"Tell your favors to stay away from my favors," said Xu, "or there may be a few more arrests than you want from the evening."

"Don't worry," said Vai. "My people can handle themselves. ~ Rosamund Hodge

My people are Americans. My time is today. ~ George Gershwin

The third world war is not going to happen! I predict it! It is not going to happen, because of you, because of my people around the earth! They are the only hope. Only millions of buddhas are capable of creating the atmosphere for peace, for love, for compassion, for celebration. ~ Rajneesh

My greatest strength is the love for my people, my greatest weakness is that I love them too much. ~ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

It required a strong heart to stand up against such talk, but I urged my people to be quiet and not to begin a war. ~ Chief Joseph

Once, while visiting the continent, Spurgeon was asked about the secret of his ministry. After a moment s pause Mr. Spurgeon said, My people pray for me. ~ John Piper

He was delivering my body to my people.

He could have been shot. He could have been attacked by other angels. If I was actually dead, he should have left me in the basement to be buried in rubble. He should have chased after Beliel and taken his wings back. He should have thwarted Uriel and avoided being seen by the other angels.

Instead, he delivered me to my family. ~ Susan Ee

And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people as one of many hoops that made one circle. ~ Black Elk

I had come down here, not to serve God as a craftsman should, but to show my people how great a craftsman I was.
They cared not. ~ Rudyard Kipling

George is a goblin who looks like a young boy. He is explaining to his friend Lout, an ogre, that he's really older than he seems - - -

"My people grow slowly and I've been around longer than you think. I'm very mature for my age. I have a doctorate degree from Oxford in Medieval Literature," said George.

"Is Oxford really in this story?" asked Lout.

"I should have said Oxxphord."

"That sounds better. I'm really impressed, George. With an education like that, you could get a great job."

"Yeah, that's how I ended up as a stable boy. ~ Bob Craton

Do you know how many nights I've spent twisting your English off my tongue? I do not take pride in your English. I want to stumble on my words. I want to speak with an accent so thick that it requires silence. I want you to struggle to understand me. Realize your English is not superior. Your English does not equate intelligence. Do not compliment me on how well I have accepted colonization. I do not want your pat on the back. I was forced to learn this language. I didn't choose to. Your English disconnects me from my people. I am deaf to my own sacred language because of your English.
Your English has done nothing for me. ~ Bilphena Yahwon

I say what I think," said the woman. "My people don't hide behind masks."
"You certainly do," said Awt, equably. "Your mask is rudeness and offensively plain speech. We only see how you wish to appear, not your true self. Mask or not, Watchman Inarakhat has been more honest than you. ~ Ann Leckie

I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, that I am guiding my people in the right direction. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

His light blue shuma and silver torque did nothing to hide the mass of cuts, scrapes, and purple bruises that covered his body and made his iridescent tattoos practically glow by contrast. He had a dark bruise under one eye that ran all the way down to the ulumi-lia tattoo on his cheekbone, and another on his jaw.

"This?" He gestured to his battered frame. "Ono, moa halea.I was invited to partake in a wrestling match yesterday afternoon."

"A wrestling match with whom? Kukuna the Stone God?"

His grin flashed, then faltered as the gesture tugged at his split lip. "It was a very intense match. And you have been reading the legends of my people. You are curious about Calberna. This is good."

She grimaced. "Don't jump to conclusions. I read most of those legends before I met you so I could teach the children at the school about Calberna." Then, because curiosity got the best of her, she asked, "So which one of Wynter's men beat you to a pulp?"

His brows rose. "I am unpulped."

"Not from where I'm standing. Or are you saying the other fellow looks worse?"

He cocked his head to one side, as if considering, then gave that charming half grin again and said, "About the same. We declared it equal contest."

"Who did you leave unpulped then?"

"It is of no concern. We had our match. We tested each other's skill and resolve, and came away with a new understanding of each other." ~ C.L. Wilson

Only mass education, he used to say, would free my people, arguing that an educated man could not be oppressed because he could think for himself. ~ Nelson Mandela

This is a career about images. It's celluloid; they last for ever. I'm a black woman from America. My people were slaves in America, and even though we're free on paper and in law, I'm not going to allow you to enslave me on film, in celluloid, for all to see. ~ Angela Bassett

My people have been sucked into the violence because some feel they have to retaliate, and some feel they have to protect themselves. ~ Mangosuthu Buthelezi