I am a post-mastectomy woman who believes our feelings need voice in order to be recognized, respected, and of use.

If I cannot air this pain and alter it, I will surely die of it. That's the beginning of social protest.

Silence has never brought us anything of worth.

I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness.

...and that visibility which makes us most vulnerable is that which also is the source of our greatest strength.

We're supposed to see "universal" love as heterosexual. What I insist upon in my work is that there is no such thing as universal love in literature.

Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian. Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black. There is no hierarchy of oppression.