Reform is changing what’s already there to make it better, like stain-proof upholstery, or wheeled feet, and then wheeled feet with brakes. Revolution is when you throw out everything and start new.
-- Carney (Part One: Ringolevio )

Importance: This quote, uttered by Carney to his son John in the early stages of the novel, is significant to the novel's broader project because of its relevance to questions of political engagement. Carney spends much of the novel attempting to institute reform—in his own life and in the broader community—only to realize later, upon hearing from Pierce about the rotten infrastructure in Harlem, that his community might be better-served by revolution.

We can straighten it all out quickly. Straighten it out like two white men.
-- Buck Webb (Part One: Ringolevio )

Importance: This snide and racist quote from Buck Webb speaks to the level of disenfranchisement that Carney and other members of the Black community in Harlem experience on a day-to-day basis...