“I'm a writer, I write things.”

“I used to wonder how a man working for the saintly organization of the saintly Dr. King could find himself in such a sinful place. But I'm no saint although I'm a good Christian, and even the best Christians are more familiar with sinners than saints.”

“If you pray why worry, and if you worry, why pray.”

“The sight of a cross on fire should be unsettling to any true Christian. To a Negro it is worse. A unique kind of fear enters your mind, one perfected by the South: that you could die for the most harmless of offenses. You could die just for the crime of living.”

“If I am dead, well, then there's somethin' 'bout you, Eleanor, that's makin' me feel like I'm still alive.”

“When they took the Fourth Amendment, I was silent because I don't deal drugs. When they took the Sixth Amendment, I kept quiet because I know I'm innocent. When they took the Second Amendment, I said nothing because I don't own a gun. Now they've come for the First Amendment, and I can't say anything at all.”

“There are two types of women in the world, Beattie, those who do things and those who have things done to them.”