Living at the YMCA in Harlem dramatically broadened my view of the world.

Quote by Constance Baker Motley

Topics: Constance Baker Motley Quotes

How long must the American community afford special treatment to blacks?

How long must the American community afford special treatment to blacks?

I rejected the notion that my race or sex would bar my success in life.

I rejected the notion that my race or sex would bar my success in life.

By 1962, King had become, by the media's reckoning, the new civil rights leader.

By 1962, King had become, by the media's reckoning, the new civil rights leader.

We African Americans have now spent the major part of the 20th Century battling racism.

We African Americans have now spent the major part of the 20th Century battling racism.

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought...

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought...

Had it not been for James Meredith, who was willing to risk his life, the...

Had it not been for James Meredith, who was willing to risk his life, the...

In my view, I did not get to the federal bench because I was a...

In my view, I did not get to the federal bench because I was a...

My parents never told us that our great-grandmothers had been slaves.

My parents never told us that our great-grandmothers had been slaves.

King thought he understood the white Southerner, having been born and reared in Georgia and...

King thought he understood the white Southerner, having been born and reared in Georgia and...

Affirmitive action is extremely complex because it appears in many different forms.

Affirmitive action is extremely complex because it appears in many different forms.

I remember being infuriated from the top of my head to the tip of my...

I remember being infuriated from the top of my head to the tip of my...

The women's rights movement of the 1970s had not yet emerged; except for Bella Abzug,...

The women's rights movement of the 1970s had not yet emerged; except for Bella Abzug,...

Lack of encouragement never deterred me. I was the kind of person who would not...

Lack of encouragement never deterred me. I was the kind of person who would not...

Whites would rather not be involved in race matters, I think.

Whites would rather not be involved in race matters, I think.

Columbia Law School men were being drafted, and suddenly women who had done well in...

Columbia Law School men were being drafted, and suddenly women who had done well in...

The fact is that racism, despite all the doomsayers, has diminished.

The fact is that racism, despite all the doomsayers, has diminished.

The Constitution, as originally drawn, made no reference to the fact that all Americans wre...

The Constitution, as originally drawn, made no reference to the fact that all Americans wre...

There is no longer a single common impediment to blacks emerging in this society.

There is no longer a single common impediment to blacks emerging in this society.

I soon found law school an unmitigated bore.

I soon found law school an unmitigated bore.

My father kept his distance from working-class American blacks.

My father kept his distance from working-class American blacks.