I have never felt a placard and a poem are in any way similar.

I marvel at the many ways we, as black people, bend but do not break.

...one of my motivating forces has been to recreate the world I know into a world I wish I could be in. Hence my optimism and happy endings.

I marvel at the many ways we, as black people, bend but do not break in order to survive. This astonishes me, and what excites me I write about. Everyone of us is a wonder. Everyone of us has a story.

I have never felt a placard and a poem are in any way similar.

The boys think they can all be athletes, and the girls think they can all be singers. That's the way to fame and success. ...as a group blacks must give up their illusions.

The most amazing thing about little children ... was their fantastic adaptability.