The black woman had had to struggle against being a person of great strength.

We've got to work to save our children and do it with full respect for the fact that if we do not, no one else is going to do it.

We had people of all backgrounds coming together - all races, all creeds, all colors, all status in life. And coming together there was a kind of quiet dignity and a kind of sense of caring and a feeling of joint responsibility.

I am the product of many whose lives have touched mine, from the famous, distinguished, and powerful to the little known and the poor.

We are not a problem people, we are people with problems.

When you're a black woman, you seldom get to do what you just want to do; you always do what you have to do.

Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.