Capitalism is like a child: if you want the child to grow up free and productive, somebody's got to look over the shoulder of that child.

What determines your altitude in life is your attitude.

I believe if we make black America better, we make all of America better.

I'm always fascinated by people from the Midwest, because it is so different than Hollywood, who discover at some point that they want to be in Hollywood.

That is still the case in this country for too many students, the soft bigotry of low expectations. If you don't expect them to learn, if you don't expect them to succeed - then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In some states, not even 50 percent of black boys finish high school.

It's hard these days to have a conversation, at least it is for me, about [Truman]Capote without "Good Night, and Good Luck" coming up in the same conversation.