When we finally stop asking America to love us and begin to love ourselves, we will prosper as a people.

My color is my joy and not my burden.

People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit.

You live your life between your ears.

African Americans know about racism, but I don't think we really know the causes. I decided it's first of all a family problem.

Knowing who you are begins in the mind.

The music was as much a gift as sunshine, as rain, as any blessing ever prayed for.