I was trying to write a straightforward book of sociological analysis, or at least cultural criticism, and I failed.

My empathy for poor people comes from having been one of them for so long, from knowing that their humanity is more complex and that the truths of their suffering have to be told honestly.

The heartbeat of your originality is deep within a body of thought that continually wrestles with the contradictions and limitations that we're constantly trying to overcome, the curiosities and the ignorances of the people we seek to help.

I think there's no question that Michael Jackson was the foremost entertainer of his generation; perhaps of all time, arguably, taking the skills of a Sammy Davis, Jr., bringing together the street dance of African American urban culture, joining them to the politics of dance, of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on that sphere alone.

If journalism is the first draft of history, then digital literacy is the first blush of the first page of history.

Tony Morrison said, 'Can't I love what I criticize, criticize what I love.'

Donald Trump amplifies the worst instincts. And his nationalism is really a white racist supremacist nationalism.