[James] Baldwin explained that you have your own history, and that you cannot be responsible, for example, for slavery.

Can you imagine in 2016 there is a discussion about #OscarsSoWhite? Is it a novelty we've just discovered that the whole production machine is dominated by only one type of human being, excluding women, excluding gays, excluding minorities? This is not new.

There are only one or two geniuses every century.

The system gives you two minutes to phrase a whole history.

[James] Baldwin said the real question is not when there will be the first Negro president in this country. The important question is what country he's going to be the president of.

The role James Baldwin played in my life is incommensurable as stated above. He helped, along with a few others, to shape the man that I am today. My debt to him is invaluable.

[James] Baldwin "was one of greatest intellectuals of his time. He was an important voice, period, not an important black voice."