"I'm in the kitchen and I'm not walking out."

"Regardless of the nature of their crime or any rehabilitation that may have occurred, these ex-felons cannot participate in the decision-making process of this great Nation."

"The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was indeed a vital instrument of democracy, ensuring the integrity and reliability of a democratic process that we as a Country hold so dear."

"We love the ability of the people to influence the actions of decision-makers, of lawmakers and presidents to be removed from or elevated to office by the will of voters, and of the community to connect amongst diverse populations through the ballot box."

"The President is destroying the fabric of America with a combined policy of war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and reductions in spending for domestic needs."

"The Iraq war took priority over domestic disaster prevention."

"I, for one, would think both about how far we have come as a country and how much further we need to go to erase racism and discrimination from our society."

"We owe it to the flood victims of New Orleans to give them truthful answers as to why this event took place and to assure our citizens that tragedies like this will never happen again."

"Meanwhile, our young men and women whose economic circumstances make military service a viable career choice are dying bravely in a war with no end in sight."

"At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire."

"The people who couldn't get out of New Orleans to escape the storm were predominantly Black."

"The United States is historically a nation of immigrants."

"The challenges African-Americans are facing today are rooted in the system of slavery."

"Full participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all."

"I am struck by how casually we as a nation react to the carnage in Iraq."

"The Klan had used fear, intimidation and murder to brutally oppress over African-Americans who sought justice and equality and it sought to respond to the young workers of the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the same way."

"If we believe in our current penal process, then the penalties imposed by judges and juries should be the only sanctions for one's crime, not the invisible sanctions of the legislature."

"Now is the time for the U.S. and the nations of Western Europe who engaged in the slave trade throughout this hemisphere to come forward in a positive way to assist in undoing the harm that was caused by their past colonial policies in the hemisphere."

"Today many Caribbean workers can be found in the hospital, construction, service and hotel industries, but there is also a growing professional sector."

"Without question, conditions in the Haiti are worse since Aristide's removal, and continue to deteriorate."

"There were no weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein was not involved in the September 11th attack."

"Thousands of people may have been killed by hurricane Katrina and many more could die in its aftermath because of the President's refusal to heed the calls of governors for help in repairing the infrastructure in their states."