It's so nice to get flowers while you can still smell the fragrance.

You wouldn't be allowed to get on a particular bus, but you'd be asked to sign your autograph.

I want to sing like Aretha Franklin. Before her I wanted the technical ability of Ella Fitzgerald.

After I got over the terrible pain of having something of mine taken from me, I began to think how bad everybody else must be feeling. It wasn't a nice time.

I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else.

Malcolm X made me very strong at a time I needed to understand what I was angry about. He had peace in his heart. He exerted a big influence on me.

Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death.