You're trying to just leave the world a little better.

The paradox of race in America is that our common destiny is more pronounced and imperiled precisely when our divisions are deeper.

The evil is so ubiquitous in terms of objectification of all of us, that one can say that almost about any TV and even radio show.

So much has to do with going beyond treating black people as cosmetic and symbolic items, as opposed to genuine personalities and human beings. And that is a deep moral and spiritual issue, which can of course be backed up by Civil Rights Commissions which enforce the laws against any form of discrimination.

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.

None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so. (p. 109)

But black folks have never really been optimists. We've been prisoners of hope, and hope is qualitatively different from optimism in the way that there's a difference between The Blues and Lawrence Welk. The Blues and Jazz have to do with hope while the other is sugarcoated music which has to do with sentimental optimism.