Part of the challenge of the Barack Obama campaign was to try to neutralize that white backlash, and of course, he was masterful in doing that.

Well technologically and so forth, it's a breakthrough, and yet [Birth of a Nation,] it's very white supremacist to the core in terms of the narrative content.

Black people have always been America's wilderness in search of a promised land.

I think we must never, ever demonize one another. That's true not just black people to black people; that's human being to human being.

The humanity and the humility, which are very different than the biological species homo sapiens. Humanity versus homo sapiens - very different things. We are biological creatures, we are animals, no doubt, but when you talk about "humando," you're talking about that particular kind of animals who are aware of their impending extinction, who have the capacity to be sensitive to catastrophe and disaster and calamity and profound crisis.

If you are always trying to do something for a cause bigger than you - connected with serving others - then it is hard to be guilty.

A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.