I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I told him if he had stolen a railroad he would be a United States Senator.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
What white man can say I never stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say that I am a thief.
I still remember, 40 years ago, when I was shackled and put in prison... Being an American citizen didn't mean a thing.
I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.
I never thought I would end up being the Senator from New York.
In the good old days when I was a senator, I was my own man.
I can honestly say that being a United States Senator has been the honor of my life.
I was in the Commons recently and saw a young lady wearing a nice pair of shoes. I said I liked them and she said my shoes were the reason she became involved in politics.
I've come to realize that an unencumbered U.S. senator is a profound threat to the whole system. It's somebody that they can't put in a box and say, 'Oh, well, we know how this guy is going to vote.'
I've worked in the prison system for five years, and most of those folks in prison didn't have a direction.
I remember traveling around in Arkansas with Senator Robinson, and I told him what this little trick was. He felt very much part of it and had me take pictures of people unbeknownst to them.