how many times would a defendant's lawyer enter the courtroom before a session and ask each of the male clerks and paralegals around me, 'Are you the assistant in charge?' while I sat there invisible to him at the head of the table?

The truth is that since childhood I had cultivated an existential independence. It came from perceiving the adults around me as unreliable, and without it I felt I wouldn't have survived. I cared deeply for everyone in my family, but in the end I depended on myself.

Don't mistake politeness for lack of strength.

If your child marches to a different beat, a different drummer, you might just have to go along with that music. Help them achieve what’s important to them.

Until we reach equality in education, we can't reach equality in the larger society.

I think that even someone who got into an institution through affirmative action could prove they were qualified by what they accomplished there.

I hope in my book [My Beloved World], that the sense that I really feel connected comes through.