You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky," she said, "who stole my song and got a hit out of it?

I feel what they feel. And people who listen to me know that, and it makes them feel like they're not alone.

There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.

Slavery has never been abolished from America's way of thinking.

It's a good time for black people to be alive.

How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?