I'm mad about the waste that happens when people who love each other can't even bring themselves to talk.

I am not convinced that men and women were ever meant to share the same house, though some people can do it beautifully.

There is always a moment in any kind of struggle when one feels in full bloom. Vivid. Alive. One might be blown to bits in such a moment and still be at peace.

All History is current; all injustice continues on some level, somewhere in the world.

I'm sure we, the American people, are the butt of jokes by those in power.

Writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence - as it saves most writers who live in 'interesting' oppressive times and are not afflicted by personal immunity.

I always have felt that elders are really important. I think it's because, in my little Southern black culture, elders really were respected. Everybody listened to them. They may not have agreed - that's a whole different story - but they would totally listen and consider what the elder had to say.