I'm going to quit writing.

But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.

To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.

History passes the final judgment

There is not racial or ethnic domination of hopelessness. It's everywhere.

As I entered this world, I would leave behind the nurturing of my family and my home, but in another sense I would take their protection with me. The lessons I had learned, the feelings of groundedness and belonging that have been woven into my character there, would be my companions on the journey.

I want my great-granddaughter to have a fairly good understanding of the world in which I lived for 81 years and also the world before I came into it - all the way back a hundred thousand years, to the beginning of our species.