“Civil rights. It’s like a prisoner saying “I have rights in prison.” Civil rights is not the same as liberation, independence, and control of one’s self. We have this faith in laws. The laws are only as strong as their enforcers. And the people who pass the laws are also the same people who enforce the laws. And when it comes to the point where they have to make the choice in terms of their survival and power as against your own, they will ignore the law and not enforce the laws. So ultimately, your salvation lies in power; not in the goodwill of the other people, not in the love of the other people, not in laws on the books. It ultimately must rest on pure power and the ability to stop other people from doing harmful things to you. Anything else is not adequate.”
— Dr. Amos N. Wilson (via disciplesofmalcolm)