I did not believe what I was told about being poor and black and female in Mississippi in 1954.

Helping others is the way we help ourselves.

Never give up your power to another person.

Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are in essence ignoring the owner's manual your creator gave you and destroying your design.

Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.

Education is the way to move mountains, to build bridges, to change the world. Education is the path to the future. I believe that education is indeed freedom.

My theory is that when you're famous, you're no different from anybody else - it's just that more people know your name.