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It never ceases to amaze me the eloquency combined with the strength of men like John Hope Franklin “The Prince”, who died March 09 at age 94.

Here are some of his quotes, from a recent Charlie Rose interview
1. On Civil Rights – the failure of the civil rights movement today is not the lack of leadership but that it’s not about getting people into a restaurant, but about the person being able to order something at the restaurant, because they have the economic means to do so.

Others
– On the name “African American” – I don’t like it, rather it be Negroes. We’ve been called Colored, Negroes, Blacks, and now African Americans
– On Race – to try to persuade this country to see the past and concede that not enough has been done, to be prepared to do more towards unity and to carry this country forward as a nation undivided racially
– How to you change minds/attitudes? Through leadership and action
– On moving into a White neighborhood in Brooklyn – When they saw I was civilized, didn’t run down the neighborhood and I added to the neighborhood, people began to treat me as part of the community. In the end some even said they’d miss me. Even if their hearts weren’t changed, I achieved the right to move into a place where I can afford. If they hate me for it, that’s their problem. But every American should be able to live where they want to live.
– We haven’t really tested integration. Anyone who says they want separatism, hasn’t lived through separatism
– Orchids are not tropical, they grow in Michigan, NY and South Carolina, the variety is endless, durable, hardy, require knowledge
– What Would you want said of you – That I was a serious, skilled and able teacher
– My Students – I’ve learned a great deal from my students in technology, their reactions, they live in a world I’m only slightly acquainted with, I was limited by the kind of education I had, context, the lack of embracing certain fields in HS and college, they were linguists, travelled, burning desire for knowledge, they had perspectives I did not have, information, reactions to experiences and they shared these things with me. I was learning from them all the time.

Have a great day. Into the future,
davidT