The Civil Rights Movement also reaffirmed me as a singer. It taught me that singing was not entertainment, it was something else.

If we dwell in a community that is comfortable, then it's probably not broad enough a coalition.

Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get ahead, trying to get published. You're scared everybody else is going to do your research and get your topic.

Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come out, and almost immediately have an impact on the academic environment.

When I started graduate school I was interested in the culture of the Civil Rights Movement.

There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.

It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide the audience with a range of perspectives, and you can cross disciplines. And you don't have to control what people take out of it.