Zis and zat' when uttered by the French is considered charming, but 'dis and dat' as an Africanism is ridiculed as gross and ugly.

That's how women are, always studyin' each other and wonderin' how they look up 'gainst the next.

Writers are encouraged to "keep 'em laughing" and complain "with good humor" in order to "win" allies. The joke is always on ourselves.

We think of poverty as a condition simply meaning a lack of funds, no money, but when one sees fifth, sixth, and seventh generation poor, it is clear that poverty is as complicated as high finance.

Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave - and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another along the way.

It's a poor kind of man that won't fight for his own freedom.

And realizing there is no such thing as the Black experience. Time and events allow for change on both sides.