I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.

The gift of loneliness is sometimes a radical vision of society or one's people that has not previously been taken into account.

I continue to care for President Obama and for his family. I think that in many ways they are very courageous people, and I honor that, because I know what it means to live as a black person in a racist America.

When you are active, and you must know this so well, that the more you are active, the more you see, the more you go to see. You know, you are curious. One thing leads to another thing, and it gets deeper and deeper, too. And there's no end to it.

I know what I'm thinking bout, I think. Nothing. And as much of it as I can.

Some colored people so scared of whitefolks they claim to love the cotton gin.

Part of what confuses people in times of upheaval is that you're getting so many different points of view and directions and so and so, how to do this and do that. And a lot of it is written in a language that honestly most people cannot understand.