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

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

My mother helped me understand how not to show off what I knew, but how to use it so that others might benefit.

If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times.

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.

We have to see that all of us are in the same boat.