Then the question began to live under my blankets: How did lesbianism begin? What were the symptoms? The public library gave information on the finished lesbian--and that woefully sketchy--but on the growth of a lesbian, there was nothing. I did discover that the difference between hermaphrodites and lesbians was that hermaphrodites were "born that way." It was impossible to determine whether lesbians budded gradually, or burst into being with a suddenness that dismayed them as much as it repelled society.

Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.

Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of God. Stand up straight.

I long for the time when all human history is taught as one history, because it really is.

In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

Each child belongs to all of us and they will bring us a tomorrow in direct relation to the responsibility we have shown to them.

I know for sure that love saves me and that it is here to save us all.