I am honored to have this role [of the moderator], but this evening belongs to the candidates and, just as important, to the American people.

Stop-and-frisk was ruled unconstitutional in New York, because it largely singled out black and Hispanic young men.

You have to go where the story is to report on it. As a journalist, you're essentially running to things that other people are running away from.

The share of Americans who say race relations are bad in this country is the highest it's been in decades, much of it amplified by shootings of African-Americans by police, as we've seen recently in Charlotte and Tulsa.

I don't expect us to cover all the issues of this campaign [2016] tonight, but I remind everyone, there are two more presidential debates scheduled. We are going to focus on many of the issues that voters tell us are most important, and we're going to press for specifics.

Mr. [Donald] Trump, for five years, you perpetuated a false claim that the nation's first black president was not a natural-born citizen. You questioned his legitimacy. In the last couple of weeks, you acknowledged what most Americans have accepted for years: The president was born in the United States.

I think sometimes we lose sight of how powerful we are when we put someone on the news - for good or bad. It can really change people's lives.