The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you - black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.

You are the sum total of everything you've seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot- it's all right there.

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.

Growing up at my grandmother's table, she always had rice. She might do something as exotic as potatoes or spaghetti, but there was still always rice, just in case you needed a little rice fix.

I'm convinced that I'm a child of God. That's wonderful, exhilarating, liberating, full of promise. But the burden which goes along with that is, I'm convinced that everybody is a child of God. . . . I weep a lot. I thank God I laugh a lot, too. The main thing in one's own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry.

I think a number of the leaders are, whether you like it or not, in the hip-hop generation. And when they understand enough, they'll do wonders. I count on them.

The future is plump with promise.