A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face.

The loss of young first love is so painful that it borders on the ludicrous.

I will write on the pages of history what I want them to say. I will be myself. I will speak my own name.

We need to not be in denial about what we've done, what we've come through. It will help us if we all do that.

I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Buddhist, a good Shintoist, a good Zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy: it's serious business.

As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.

Remember this: When you cross my doorstep, you have already been raised. With what you have learned...you know the difference between right and wrong. Do right. Don't anybody raise you from the way you have been raised. Know you will have to make adaptations, in love, in relationships, in friends, in society, in work, but don't let anybody change your mind.