When I was 12 years old, my pastor came to the church: Dr. Fredrick Samson. And that was revolutionary because he mentored me and I got a chance to see up close the impact of a rhetorical genius.

I guess I'm a Luddite.

Hip-hop has globalized a conception of blackness that has had a political impact, whether or not it had a political intent.

Bill Cosby is a famous black guy who has a bully pulpit the size of the world; it's global. He puts his colossal foot on the vulnerable necks of poor people, and as a result of that, we don't have a balanced conversation.

My ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me.

My church is the world! I want to bring the gospel to as broad and as interesting an audience as possible.

There's a great book about John Kennedy and his relationship to civil rights called 'The Bystander.' The title alone suggests that he did as little as possible, any minimal critical effort, to really facilitate civil rights in the White House.