I think all Americans should be hopeful, and try to be optimistic.

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again today: the vote is precious; it's almost sacred.

The reward for playing jazz is playing jazz.

This book [March], in my estimation, is a road map. It is a change agent. It is saying to people, "This is a way".

When I speak to students about the Civil Rights Movement, I say that it is impossible to stop a determined movement that is captivating the American consciousness. I think the candidacy of Sen. Obama represents the beginning of a new movement in American political history that began in the hearts and minds of the people of this nation. And I want to be on the side of the people, on the side of the spirit of history.

I would like to think that we have made much more progress, that we've come much further, to have someone like a Donald Trump to emerge as the nominee of a major political party.

I truly believe that one day we will get there, we will arrive. And if we do it right in America, maybe, just maybe, we can serve as a model for the rest of the world.