Quotes from Isaac Wright Jr.

Aside from my own fight, I was continuously engaged in the fight for others. So, for decades, all I did was fight. What that did to me is it didn't give me the time to reflect on my own feelings.

I think one of the things that happens with, especially in the criminal justice system, is that the prosecutor is able to control the narrative from the very, very beginning. The moment an arrest is made, they put out a press release to the media and the media follows that narrative.

I'm a part of the system now and I am helping people within that system and, so, it would be hypocrisy to be part of a system that I don't believe in.

Well, 50 was a made man before I met him. So that alone - you walk into a room, and there's an immediate respect.

In order for New York to not only get back to where we were, but to finally fulfill our potential as the greatest city on Earth, we need people in charge who are going to fight for the working class, and not the corrupt institutions that have taken advantage of a broken system.

I was walking down First Avenue, heading to CVS. And two police cars pulled over and stopped, and rolled down the window and one of them asked, 'Are you Isaac Wright?' When I said yes, they immediately got out and asked me to take pictures with them in front of the police car.

I am going to live and die in the trenches.

I went to law school for one reason and one reason only. To slay giants for a price. And if the giant is big enough and the cause is important enough, I'll do it for free, especially when it involves helping those who cannot help themselves.

You can scream, you can holler, you can protest - which are all good things, because we have to be heard - but no real, significant changes occur without rolling up your sleeves and getting into a fight.

I spent so much time fighting that I didn't take the time to reflect on what I was actually going through.

I don't consider myself a true activist, in the sense that I don't like to do a lot of talking. I'll ask once or twice, and then it's time to fight.

Just a look at the face of the officer kneeling on George Floyd's neck is indicative of the cause behind what he was doing. His face showed no concern.

You plead guilty you get 20 years, you plead guilty you get 15 years. That's the lowest time I heard and I said I'm no kingpin, I didn't do this. I decided at that moment that I was going to prison and I wasn't going to pay someone to send me to prison. I decided to put the gloves on, string up the boots, and get into the fight.

I'm speaking for everyone who has ever been incarcerated, especially those who are innocent or have been overly charged.

My parents came from the south. So their ancestors were actually slaves in this country.

I understood law enforcement in such a way that I was able to get a law enforcement officer, a veteran, to actually come clean and admit fault, even though he was facing prison time.

For me, patience is a virtue and the result is much more important than the road.