Wherever you go in the history of America, there have been Black people making contributions, but their contributions have been obscured, lost, buried.

My grandfather was coloured, my father was Negro, and I am Black.

The precise form of an individual's activity is determined, of course, by the equipment with which he came into the world. In other words, it is determined by his heredity.

It turns out one of my ancestors fought in the Continental Army, so I was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution.

First we have to recognize that the cause of poverty is both structural and behavioral. And the first thing about the behavior part is that we need a moral revolution within the African American community. Look - no white racist makes you get pregnant when you are a black teenager.

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.

My father lived to be 97 and played bridge every day up to the end, so I've got a 50 percent chance of living a long life like him.