Music is the very cement that has not just held the black community together but holds black selves together in a fundamental sense.

Some people don't want to be morally consistent. They just want to be tied to their one issue.

The basic problem with my love relationships with women is that my standards are so high - and they apply equally to both of us. I seek full-blast mutual intensity, fully fledged mutual acceptance, full-blown mutual flourishing, and fully felt peace and joy with each other. This requires a level of physical attraction, personal adoration, and moral admiration that is hard to find.

I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood mentality and tended to always want to support the weak against the strong, but sometimes it was cohesive and I really needed to fall in love with the power of education to find the right venue to express my rage. I still have a righteous indignation at injustice, no matter what form it takes.

The most important assets we have are our bodies and our energy which can be put to good use as resources in political activism for poor and working people.

I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.

I am not optimistic, but I've never been optimistic about humankind or America. The evidence never looks good in terms of forces for good actually becoming prominent.