North Carolina | Search Carolina Quotes

I was awarded a National Physical Science Consortium fellowship to pursue graduate studies in mathematics and earned my M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduate school, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Environmental Protection Agency in the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

We don't have to go to a museum to experience art.

Not only thee, my soul, but all, May rise and enter free.

All one needs to write a story is one feeling and four walls.

It’s impossible to pick just one challenge as North Carolina’s biggest issue. Our state faces complex, interconnected problems — public education, healthcare, housing, economic growth, environment, clean water, voting rights, and more. Each issue is critical and our citizens deserve thoughtful solutions to address them all.

North Carolina was the scene of the crime of the worst voter suppression, after the case out of Alabama and when the Supreme Court gutted Section 5. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that it’s like putting away your umbrella — the Shelby case, it was — putting away your umbrella in a rainstorm. And in North Carolina, Amy, when it was done, the Republicans there said, “Now that the problem has — the headache has been removed, we can do what we want to.” And guess what. Everything Pence just said, we heard in 2013. And they tried to roll back every progressive way of voting. And they actually went to the books and looked at how did it benefit Black and Brown people and young people, and those were the rules they tried to roll back. And the court said it was surgical — surgical racism. And what I saw in North Carolina, what we defeated in North Carolina, what we filed suit against in North Carolina, is now what Trump and Pence are talking about doing on the national level: surgical racism with surgical precision.

I also support a single-payer health care system and have fought for several decades to ensure North Carolina expansion of Medicaid.

Though there are few Catholics in the state, an unusual proportion have occupied prominent official positions.

When other names are lost among the dead, Some genius yet may live thy fame to spread; Memory's fair bush shall not decline to bloom, But flourish fresh upon thy sacred tomb.

I come from a unique place. North Carolina was the scene of the crime of the worst voter suppression, after the case out of Alabama and when the Supreme Court gutted Section 5. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that it’s like putting away your umbrella — the Shelby case, it was — putting away your umbrella in a rainstorm. And in North Carolina, Amy, when it was done, the Republicans there said, “Now that the problem has — the headache has been removed, we can do what we want to.” And guess what. Everything Pence just said, we heard in 2013. And they tried to roll back every progressive way of voting. And they actually went to the books and looked at how did it benefit Black and Brown people and young people, and those were the rules they tried to roll back. And the court said it was surgical — surgical racism. And what I saw in North Carolina, what we defeated in North Carolina, what we filed suit against in North Carolina, is now what Trump and Pence are talking about doing on the national level: surgical racism with surgical precision.

A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library. The library is the university.

here in North Carolina, Republicans launched a specific attack on civics education because they don’t want an educated and engaged and informed population, because those are the kinds of people that hold people accountable. Right?

While Brother Wilson was preaching, the whole subject seemed more clear and visible to my mind than ever before.

My children, too, would be placed where they could labor to more advantage than they were likely to do here.

I was so mean in my own estimation that I could not blame them for anything but their kindness towards me.

Go I must and go I did; But felt poorly prepared to preach with satisfaction to myself or benefit to the people.

Lessening our dependence on foreign energy sources is not only an economic necessity, but a matter of national security, and I will continue to work in the United States Senate toward that goal.

I was not in a very good state of mind to learn at school; but did the best I could under the circumstances.

The biggest challenge facing North Carolina today is affordable housing. As our state experiences rapid growth, housing costs continue to rise, making it harder for working- and middle-class families to find affordable places to live. This issue directly impacts our workforce, local economies, and community stability.

While there, walking in the street, she made a misstep, fell, and her ankle was so much injured as to terminate in mortification and consequent death.

My father was of a more delicate system than the rest of the children, and with this peculiarity united a taste for study and mental occupation.

I exchanged not a word more with any one, but walked home with feelings sunk as low as a few minutes before they had been elevated.

I am one of those who do not believe the national debt is a national blessing... it is calculated to raise around the administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country.

If we cannot choose our condition, or control events, we have our choice of the course we will pursue, so far as sin or obedience to the truth is concerned.

Since the 2020 election, we've had some big successes, including sending the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to President Biden's desk. These legislative victories are responsible for everything from the Child Tax Credit, to almost a billion dollars in transit funding for North Carolina

I know her story-telling eye Has more expression than her tongue; And from that heart-extorted sigh, At once the peal of love is rung.

I was young and thoughtless; but the first reflection that rushed upon me, was, that God in his goodness had saved my life by prompting me in the critical moment to act as I did.

Let me die and not tremble at death, But smile at the close of my day, And then, at the flight of my breath, Like a bird of the morning in May, Go chanting away.

I was introduced to agriculture while pursuing a college degree in pulp and paper science and technology at North Carolina State University. While a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, I had the opportunity to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture in their efforts to advance agriculture through research, education, and extension.

She taught me for only one course, but for some reason, I was always in her presence,” Owens said in a 2014 documentary about her life and career. “She had finished North Carolina Central herself and she had gone on to get her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. The fact that she had gotten a Ph.D.—she became my role model.

I believed strongly in being an engaged citizen and had a certain level of social and political awareness, but my understanding that the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement and its accomplishments shifted during the course of the Obama administration and especially in 2013 when I witnessed the acquittal of George Zimmerman and the attack on voting rights in the state of North Carolina.

I love my State, because her people have been good and kind to me, and because her sky is above my home, as it will be above my grave.

Tiger could but his bristles raise, A surly compliment he pays, Insulted shows his wrath; Returns a just defensive growl, And does not turn aside to prowl, But onward keeps the path, poor dog, But onward keeps the path.

It is a very long way from Ibada Village (which no longer exists) to Charlotte, North Carolina. I was not even born there, but at Igberhe Village, so-named after the plantain plants that sustained the people. My two hands are both of Okpara, the sub-clan of Agbon. It's said that Okpara is slippery in the dry season, if you take the town for granted!

However, an underlying issue that is most concerning is the extreme partisanship that’s preventing us from doing the real work North Carolinians deserve. As an Air Force veteran, I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when people work together toward a common goal. But in the legislature, too often, bills and budgets are crafted behind closed doors, with little input from across the aisle. This undermines democracy by silencing the voices of those we represent. No one party has all of the best ideas; our citizens deserve our best collective efforts.

In my current work as a community organizer in North Carolina, the other activists and I operate by a principle we refer to as “seven generations.” The concept, which we adapted from the Iroquois Confederacy, means we understand that the work we’re doing has gone on for seven generations and will continue for seven more. The movement lives because of the many people, places, and generations that breathe life into it.

I believe we can do better and I am committed to doing my part. I will continue to represent the needs of my entire district and our state, while working with anyone who’s willing to collaborate for the good of North Carolina, but never compromising my values. The challenges we face are too important for us to remain divided. We owe it to our state to work together to build a better future for all.

The legalization of recreational or medical marijuana is a complex and debated issue, and opinions vary. Some argue for its potential medical benefits, economic impact, and social justice considerations, while others express concerns about public health and safety. If North Carolina were to consider legalization, we would need to discuss regulations to address issues like age restrictions, licensing, and taxation to ensure responsible use. It's essential for any policy to strike a balance between individual freedoms and societal interests while addressing potential risks.

For 50 years, women have relied on their constitutional right to make their own medical decisions, but today that right has been tragically ripped away. That means it’s now up to the states to determine whether women get reproductive health care, and in North Carolina they still can. I will continue to trust women to make their own medical decisions as we fight to keep politicians out of the doctor’s exam room.

The Republican legislature is perpetuating a slow death for our public schools by systematically underfunding them while failing to meet the North Carolina Constitution’s requirement for a sound, basic education for every child. Their efforts align with Trump’s Project 2025, a national agenda aimed at dismantling public education. Our children deserve better — they deserve a world-class public education that equips them to compete globally, not one sacrificed to political agendas and the privileged few.

Allan Gurganus and I grew up, thirty years apart, in the small town of Rocky Mount, situated on the Tar River in eastern North Carolina. A life-size portrait of Gurganus hung in our local library’s entryway, and I used to leaf through a copy of his best-known novel, “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,” while waiting for my piano lessons to start. (Gurganus knew my music teacher, Gene Featherstone, socially. “A sweetheart,” he assured me.) For me, Gurganus was proof that you could come from the place where I lived—a place steeped in propriety, religion, and tradition—and become a writer.

In the allotments of Providence we have been placed in a pleasant and beautiful country—a country washed on either hand by the waters of the circling seas, and teeming with all the elements of prosperity and power. This glorious country—this chosen seat of science and of art—this happy and peculiar residence of civil and religious liberty, has been won for us by the constancy and courage of our ancestors; it is the birth-place of blood and battle and prolonged disaster; and it is ours to defend, ours to enjoy, and ours to transmit in untarnished splendor to posterity.

We’re telling people, vote by absentee ballot. In North Carolina, where we have 16 days of early voting, vote early. And if you vote on Election Day, then put your shield on, put your mask on, put your gloves on. Pack you a lunch. Get you a folding chair. Put some water in that lunch bag and vote. And if they want to come watch us vote, let them watch millions of people, because we’re not scared. We’re not giving away this democracy. Let them come and watch. And then stop saying Trump won the last time. He was elected by the Electoral College because of 80,000 votes.

Look at the mighty Mississippi the Father of Waters—it rises in the nameless snows of North America—runs through twenty-three degrees of latitude, all our own soil, and washes the sides of ten young, flourishing, and powerful States; its tributaries drain the rains that fall in sight of the Atlantic and meet the streams that flow into the Pacific upon the summit of the Rocky Mountains—its broad tides bear on their buoyant bosom the clothing of half of the world, and the fertile valleys, which spread out from its ample banks are capable of producing food for the population of the whole earth for a thousand years to come.

I voted against Senate Bill 20, the so-called "Care for Women, Children and Families Act." The title is misleading because SB 20 demonstrates a deep disregard for women and their right to make their own healthcare decisions. This bill reduced the abortion limit from 20 weeks to 12 and in my opinion is just the beginning of attacks on women’s reproductive rights in North Carolina. To be clear, this is not about a woman's "ability to keep her skirt down," as some might suggest — it's about one of the most sensitive and deeply personal healthcare decisions a woman can face. I fully supported the 20-week limit, which allowed exceptions for rape, incest, and when a woman's life is in danger, based on her doctor’s advice

I voted in support of Senate Bill 3, the NC Compassionate Care Act, I believe it is time North Carolina passes medical marijuana. My district is home to Fort Liberty, where many disabled veterans live and suffer from chronic pain due to their service. During my campaign, veterans repeatedly expressed the need for medical marijuana as an alternative treatment for pain management. As a disabled veteran myself, I understand firsthand the challenges of managing pain. This bill was an opportunity for the state to take meaningful action to support our veterans beyond words of gratitude. While the bill has not yet passed the NC House, I remain hopeful that it will in the next session. As for recreational marijuana, I don't foresee it becoming law in the near future, and it is not something I would support at this time. My priority is ensuring we address the immediate healthcare needs of those who need it most, particularly our veterans

In some respects, the authorized levels for the U.N. peacekeeping operations in this bill are nothing short of disingenuous. The Department of State, the U.S. Mission of the United Nations and OMB have known for just about a year now that U.S. peacekeeping assessments in 1994 will be $1 billion more than Congress has authorized and appropriated, and there will be $1 billion more than authorized for next year, fiscal year 1995. In fact, the U.S. State Department has already spent all of the fiscal year 1994 funds that were appropriated, and we are only 3 months into the fiscal year. As they say in North Carolina, "How do you like them apples?" If the American people had a vote on it, we would find out pretty quickly. This administration continues to write the United Nations blank checks every time we vote in the U.N. Security Council to approve another peacekeeping mission. Thus far, the State Department has been sucking hundreds of millions of dollars from the Department of Defense every year to support U.N. peacekeeping operations.

I come from the South. Like a lot of people, especially a lot of African Americans, my ancestors came through Charleston, a slave market. And so, the Confederate flag is a symbol of, you know, folks trying to kind of hold us into the place of bondage that we had been before and our struggle the past 150 years of trying to come out of that place. And so, it was—I’m sure I was like a lot of people, sitting at home, looking at the flag flying, I mean, wished I could just take that down, you know, but had no idea if it was possible and how possible it would be. I had even contemplated just on my own just attempting to climb it, knowing full well that I wouldn’t make it up the pole, and just let them arrest me, just to make that statement. I mean, that’s how strongly I felt about it. And so, then, when I ended up connecting with other activists there in North Carolina and found out that, you know, there were people who actually did know how to plan for how we could possibly scale the pole—and, you know, there were many roles to fill in the plan, and one of course included needing someone to actually climb up. And, of course, that was a high risk of arrest, we knew. And so, after some prayer and really thinking about it, I decided to volunteer.