I had a really nice childhood; I had great parents. I earned my allowance by washing dishes, and in the summer I earned my allowance by working in daddy's garden.

Fanatics are, for one thing, boring and, for another, unreliable. They tend to burn out just when you need them.

The nature of tragedy and accident is that we cannot predict.

If culture was a railroad, I can see the tracks running from the Spirituals to the Hip Hop Nation.

Nina Simone's music is incredibly honest. That's like saying, "Why does Jesus' word still stay around?" It's incredibly honest and it's good.

We are better than we think and not yet what we want to be.

I am a huge fan of the Black woman. I never hesitate to recommend her when times are bad or things go wrong.