I don't want the Obama era to be more about symbolism than substance when it comes to black people. I love him, but I love black people even more.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. is the most insightful and inspiring columnist of his generation.

I think, for most of us is that once you get to a certain place in your career you're not having to elbow and knock people around and audition for parts.

I believe there is nothing we endure in life that you can't recover from. Failure is not fatal. Everyone has the capacity to fail up.

Life is about committing ourselves on a daily basis to the best in us. Freedom is a state of mind. Freedom is an attitude. Freedom is a spirit. You may be behind bars, but you still have the capacity to be free. I've visited some people behind bars who are freer than Negroes I see running around every day. Being in jail, or poor, or uneducated doesn't determine how free you can be. There are really only two types of people. Either you're running scared or you're running free. I choose to run free, and you can, too, no matter what your circumstances in life.

The storm came. Lives were washed away. Ancient pains resurfaced. Now it is time for a sea of change.

He was a humanist then, he's a humanist now, and to my mind John Carlos is an authentic American hero.