All I Was Trying To

Stand For Something Or You Will Fall For Anything. Today's Mighty Oak Is Yesterday's Nut That Held Its Ground.

I Was Ready To Die But Give My Consent Never. Never, Never.

We Didn't Have Any Civil Rights. It Was Just A Matter Of Survival, Of Existing From One Day To The Next. I Remember Going To Sleep As A Girl Hearing The Klan Ride At Night And Hearing A Lynching And Being Afraid The House Would Burn Down.

I Will No Longer Act On The Outside In A Way That Contradicts The Truth That I Hold Deeply Inside. I Will No Longer Act As If I Were Less Than The Whole Person I Know Myself Inwardly To Be.

People Have Said Over The Years That The Reason I Did Not Give Up My Seat Was Because I Was Tired. I Did Not Think Of Being Physically Tired. My Feet Were Not Hurting. I Was Tired In A Different Way. I Was Tired Of Seeing So Many Men Treated As Boys And Not Called By Their Proper Names Or Titles. I Was Tired Of Seeing Children And Women Mistreated And Disrespected Because Of The Color Of Their Skin. I Was Tired Of Jim Crow Laws, Of Legally Enforced Racial Segregation.