“Madame, by tipping my hat I was telling you several things. That I would not harm you in any way. That if someone came into this elevator and threatened you, I would defend you. That if you fell ill, I would tend to you and if necessary carry you to safety. I was telling you that even though I am a man and physically stronger than you, I will treat you with both respect and solicitude. But frankly, Madame, it would have taken too much time to tell you all of that; so, instead, I just tipped my hat.”

– Samuel Proctor, the longtime pastor of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church (he died in 1997), after tipping his hat to a woman he met in an elevator. The woman, a feminist, was offended by the gesture and asked him “What is that supposed to mean?”