I don't think the riots derailed the civil rights movement.

Very few Black people ever embraced back to Africa movements, and very few actually, a tiny number actually went back to Africa. They said, "We are going to make America live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States." They produced one of the world's great cultures; they produced individuals who were just as brilliant and made contributions to the world civilization. In fact, they produced a world-class civilization, the African American civilization, in music, in dance, in oratory, in religion, in writing.

Politicians will not put forth programs aimed at the problems of poor blacks while their turnout remains so low.

Dr. King's Nobel Prize had a more powerful transforming effect on him than I think he realized at the time.

That's what I mean by being bilingual: comfortable in your skin, comfortable with all parts of who you are.

America is the greatest nation ever founded. The ideals are the greatest ever espoused in human history, and we just need the country to live up to them. But what I worry about are the 1 million black men in the prison system.

Well, certainly one of the ironies of the success of affirmative action is that the middle class within the black community no longer lives within 'black community' by and large.