We can revolutionize the attitude of inner city brown and black kids to learning. We need a civil rights movement within the African-American community.

I'm a tech geek. Whenever I read about something new, I think to myself, How can I take this and make it black?

It is the black poet who bridges the gap in tradition, who modifies tradition when experience demands it, who translates experience into meaning and meaning into belief.

The first step toward tolerance is respect and the first step toward respect is knowledge.

My brother and I had a really privileged relationship with my parents... They treated us like adults.

My producers and I worked with these consultants and came up with seventy [stories] which we think are exemplary of the larger arc of African-American history between 1513 and 2013. We covered half a millennium, and it's amazing.

Where do real conversations about citizenship occur? In our schools. Think about the things you learned in first grade. "My Country 'Tis of Thee," "I pledge allegiance to the flag," "America the Beautiful."