Some say that I was once uncommonly beautiful, but I wouldn't wish beauty on any woman who has not her own freedom, and who chooses not the hands that claim her.

To gaze into another persons face is to do two things: to recognise their humanity and to assert your own.

I remember wondering, within a year or two of taking my first my first steps, why only men sat to drink tea and converse, and why women were always busy. I reasoned that men were weak and needed rest.

We are never really beyond it... slavery continues to this day.

You must learn to respect," Papa said. But I do not respect her," I said. Papa paused for a moment, and patted my leg. "Then you must learn to hide your disrespect.

beware the clever man that makes the wrong look right

I had learned that there were times when fighting was impossible, when the best thing to do was to wait and to learn.