Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

Where Negroes provide 20 percent of the vote, they should have 20 per cent of the jobs.

There has to be more opportunities for Asian or black actors.

There needs to be more film directors of colour. They bandy about the word 'diversity' a lot, but when I say 'of colour,' I mean Asian, black - I mean people of all colour. We need to have those voices given the opportunity, not told that their films will not be distributed or will not sell well abroad.

It is of the highest importance to provide equal access to the labour market. Governments should act to establish equitable employment standards and penalise racial discrimination.

I feel there should be blacks in every Party.

I don't know how one would define an affirmative-action hire. I ultimately do not know what role race played in my hiring.

Affirmative action is an effort to include every aspect of society in the decision making.

In Obama's case, we've enabled affirmative action to find a home in the nation's highest office. There you have it. I said it and I stand by it. America fell for the gimmick candidate, disregarding every fact and warning sign in the rush to have 'the first African-American president.'

We believe that the Committee on the Federal Judiciary can no longer be all-white. Minority groups, particularly the black lawyers of our nation, should be represented…

I am working for the time when unqualified Blacks, Browns and women join the unqualified men in running our government.

For me, I actively look for projects that showcase people of color.

If you're not hiring from some groups of the population, then you're obviously missing out.

I think that affirmative action programs can be very important.

I believe that while race-neutral means are preferable, it is appropriate to use race as one factor among others in achieving a diverse student body.

I don't want to not be African. The goal is to live in a world where my race doesn't limit my access, where I can see myself represented in the highest level of society without any limitation.

It is one thing to open job opportunities. It is another to train people to fill them, or to persuade American enterprise to seek Negro as well as white applicants.

You draw a district for that particular minority - African American, Asian, Hispanic - so those folks have the right to elect whoever they want. If they don't decide to elect someone who sounds like them or looks like them, they can pick anyone they want.

My main priorities were to fight for Britain. Not a lot of Asians get selected for this country at anything, and it's a great achievement.

I understand the Rooney Rule and I understand why it is critical in America. I certainly think there are differences between the American system and in American football, there is such a large percentage of players who are of ethnic backgrounds. I think there is a difference here... I don't think its appropriate here.

I think it's not up to Congress to dictate what the right amount of diversity is, but I think it's Congress' place to ask the question, to any industry, in talking about what's going on out there. Is there a lack of preparation of the community to be ready to be involved in that industry?

I don't think quotas are necessarily an evil. I think when we look at industry in general back to the '60s and the '50s, the way more diverse people like my dad and mom's generation were able to break into industry was because of affirmation action, because of quotas.

I was very proud and grateful to be the first African-American woman in the position. I thought it said a lot about our country that we had back-to-back African-American Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and then me. I also thought it said a lot about President Bush that he didn't see limits on the highest ranking diplomat in terms of color. It's a hard job, but really the best one in government.

If you recall when [John] Kennedy passed an edict, 'Every person you hire in the Post Office must be African American,' the challenge with that is if all of a sudden, you are hired just because of the color of your skin, ability has nothing to do with it.And if ability has nothing to do with it, what does it do? It promotes mediocrity.

I'd like to see David Letterman adopt the inclusion rider on his Netflix show.

I have spoken on many occasions about what I felt about a lack of black managers at the highest level. Total inclusion is good for our game and that is what I think everyone wants to see.