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

Without doubt, President [Barack] Obama is a great historical figure.

The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, a universal tale that all people should experience.

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.

I'd say imagine that you wake up one morning when you're going through a midlife crisis. You're getting divorced. Your kids won't speak to you. Their faces are covered with acne, and you have to decide why you should get out of bed. That's the career you should pick. The one that keeps you going no matter what, even if your life is falling apart. That's how I feel about my career.

We can't all work in the inner city. And, I don't even think that it is incumbent upon an African-American intellectual to be concerned in their work with problems of race and class. It's just one of the things, that we here at the DuBois Institute, are concerned about.

I want to get into the educational DNA of American culture. I want 10 percent of the common culture, more or less, to be black.