Guilt and defensiveness are bricks in a wall against which we all flounder; they serve none of our futures.

Your silence will not protect you.

I am a bleak heroism of words that refuse to be buried alive with the liars.

I am a Black Feminist. I mean I recognize that my power as well as my primary oppressions come as a result of my blackness as well as my womaness, and therefore my struggles on both of these fronts are inseparable.

There's always someone asking you to underline one piece of yourself - whether it's Black, woman, mother, dyke, teacher, etc. - because that's the piece that they need to key in to. They want to dismiss everything else.

Art is not living. It is the use of living. The artist has the ability to take the living and use it in a certain way and produce art.

In discussions around the hiring and firing of Black faculty at universities, the charge is frequently heard that Black women are more easily hired than are Black men.