awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.
Openly homosexual leader that organized the March on Washington and was advisor to MLK Jr.
personal advocator and supporter of "Little Rock Nine"
"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals."
"I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment."
encouraged tactics of nonviolent protests and civil disobedience
led Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (First African American Labor Union)
"Freedom is never given, it is won."
known as "mother of freedom movement" when she refused to give up her seat on a bus
wrote "The Souls of Black Folk"
brutally beaten in 1965 civil rights march known as "Bloody Sunday"
"To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships."
"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically... No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."
“No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies.”
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
advocated for Fair Employment Practice Committee which investigated racial discrimination within employment
First African american woman to run for congress in Alabama and held black voter registration drives
Founder of NAACP
"We need in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers
militant ideology that contrasted with Martin Luther King Jr.
"I was taught to love people, to excuse their hate, and realize that if they get the hate out of them, that they will be able to love."
famous "I have a dream" speech
