Quotes About Power

The slavemaster took Tom and dressed him well, and fed him well, and even gave him a little education -- a little education; gave him a long coat and a top hat and made all the other slaves look up to him. Then he used Tom to control them. The same strategy that was used in those days is used today, by the same white man.

In the North, they do it a different way. They have a system that's known as gerrymandering.... It means when Negroes become too heavily concentrated in a certain area, and begin to gain too much political power, the white man comes along and changes the district lines.

My memories are of the friction between my father and mother. They seemed to be nearly always at odds. Sometimes my father would beat her. It might have had something to do with the fact that my mother had a pretty good education. Where she got it I don't know. But an educated woman, I suppose, can't resist the temptation to correct an uneducated man.

If you aren't careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.

You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you'll do anything to get your freedom; then you'll get it. It's the only way you'll get it.

The powers that be use the press to give the devil an angelic image and give the image of the devil to the one who's really angelic. They make oppression and exploitation and war actually look like an act of humanitarianism. This is not the kind of extremism that I support or that I go along with.

If the white man doesn't want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us.

A ballot is like a bullet. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.

If we don't cast a ballot, it's going to end up in a situation where we're going to have to cast a bullet. It's either a ballot or a bullet.

We must control the politics and the politicians of our community. They must no longer take orders from outside forces. We will organize, and sweep out of office all Negro politicians who are puppets for the outside forces.

Any time Uncle Sam, with all his machinery for warfare, is held to a draw by some rice eaters, he's lost the battle.

If the government thinks I am wrong for saying this, then let the government start doing its job.

I don't know much about kisses, but I can assure you that hers were no less fierce than a swarm of bullets tearing the air

No se mucho de besos, pero yo le aseguro que los suyos no eran menos feroces que un enjambre de balas despedazando el aire

Antipater uses us favourably if he looks upon us as staves, but very hardly if he considers us as freemen.

Happiness is the possession of the excellence proper to us, and of the power subservient to it.

He who pretends to carry his point by force hath need of many associates.

A horse is a thing of beauty... none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor.

Brevity is the soul of command.

men unite against none so readily as against those whom they see attempting to rule over them.

The pleasures of love, then ... seem to be the only objects that can excite in you the desire of reigning; for in this respect it is in your power to attach yourselves to whatever object you find eminently beautiful.

How can you say that princes have the greatest power of subduing their enemies, when they are sensible that all are their enemies, who are subject to their rule?

It is only for those to employ force who possess strength without judgment; but the well advised will have recourse to other means.

but the banging was fascist—a sound conveying force and authority—and I knew I would have to answer.