Music is the center of my life.

Desegregation is a joke.

It is difficult to retain your standards with the pressure of trying to make money, which always has its rules...It's hard to walk the tightrope of doing what you think is your best and making money at it.

I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.

It was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution - real girl's talk.

I was always a politician from the day the civil rights people chose me as their protest singer.

Music has been a burden and a joy for as long as I can remember.