Every Black woman in America lives her life somewhere along a wide curve of ancient and unexpressed angers.

The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, externally defined, and leads us to accept many facets of our own oppression as women.

...my experience with people who tried to label me was that they usually did it to either dismiss me or use me.

Our visions begin with our desires.

Black women sharing close ties with each other, politically or emotionally, are not the enemies of Black men.

For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth of that language by which we speak it.

Pain is an event ... Suffering, on the other hand, is the nightmare reliving of unscrutinized and unmetabolized pain.