You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question.

I'm always annoyed about why black people have to bear the brunt of everybody else's contempt. If we are not totally understanding and smiling, suddenly we're demons.

Like any artist without an art form, she became dangerous.

Liberation means you don't have to be silenced.

Black people are victims of an enormous amount of violence. None of those things can take place without the complicity of the people who run the schools and the city.

It's a bad word, 'belong.' Especially when you put it with somebody you love ... You can't own a human being.

My theory is that the world is a difficult place to live in and distraction is the name of the game.