I hope that my story, I hope that my life is... an encouragement for people, especially in Brooklyn. I feel humbled and blessed.

You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.

Choice is a divine teacher, for when we choose we learn that nothing is ever put in our path without a reason.

You've got to know what your 'thing' is, and you've got to call it a 'thing,' whether it's meanness, nastiness, un-forgiveness, arrogance, ego, resistance, rebelliousness or defiance. Everybody's got a 'thing,' and once you call your 'thing' a 'thing,' we can give it a place to be or dismiss it.

WE [black women] HAVE ADAPTED TO A SOCIETY THAT DOES'NT HONOR US.

Whether at work, at home or in public, we have been trained to believe that who we are at the core of our being is often unacceptable. As a result, we work diligently to live up to - and sometimes down to - what others have made us out to be, whether or not it is an accurate reflection of who we are.

Love people enough to tell them the truth and respect them enough to trust that they can handle it.